Our Promise
by BelleWriter
Summary: After Christian Grey suffers a terrible loss in his family, he's focused on protecting and raising his three children all of his life. However, he has still managed to keep his dominant ways from his children. Will love stroll into his life again, or will fear get in the way?
1. Character Intro

Hey readers!  
I'm so happy to announce that after months of writers block, I've come up with a story that I'm excited to write and I hope that you guys will enjoy reading this story as much as I'll enjoy writing it. I do appreciate all of your support and love you've gave me from my past stories and I just want to tell you guys that I love you guys, too!

This is a character intro to the "Grey" children.

Theodore was the eldest child for Christian Grey. He was born on October 19th, and just turned 22. He's a gentleman and every girl fell in love with his charm and personality. He's had many girlfriends but none of them that he has loved. He's a man with morals and respect for woman with a sweet heart and companionship. Truly, he made anyone feel like they were worth everything in the world. Theodore is a hard worker; after years of following in the footsteps of his father's company, he's taking a step closer to his dream by furthering his education in business. Soon enough, he'll be standing side by side with his father running the company. Now, he couldn't be happier. However, his sister's always encourage him to become a chef because he was the one who cooked for them on most days. He treats everyone with admiration and knows how to have a good time. He likes to chase after love until he can call it his and he likes to protect anyone he cares deeply about. Alth Nevertheless he's closer in age with his sister Phoebe, he shares a closer bond with Esmeralda and puts her above anyone.

Phoebe Grey was the first daughter for Christian Grey. Born on May 12th, she's currently 20 years old. She's nothing like her siblings at all; although they share many things in common, she's more of the party animal. She snuck out of her parent's home almost every night to go to parties during her senior year in high school. Then, she would sneak back in at early hours in the morning either wasted or tipsy. Phoebe is a fun person to be around and looks at life as a one time opportunity to live it freely, or live with a stick up your butt. She has a sweet side and knows how to make you laugh. Her heart is always honest and in the right place, and of course she's the person you would go to for advice no matter what situation it was. The public views her as the "Wild Child", but little do they know; she's head strong and capable of controlling herself. She has never slept with a guy, though many people claim that she has. Phoebe is someone everyone tends to hear rumors about in the city. She looks out for all of her family members and is closest with her cousin Ava.

Esmeralda Grey is the youngest child in the Grey family and is just lovely. She's currently 17 and made her mark in the world on February 4th. With her brown hair, bold grey eyes, petite body and bubbly personality everyone seems to immediately fall in love with her. It's in her nature to look after and give the world to people, rather than receive it. She'll do anything to put a smile on your face. Esmeralda is known for being an angel to her family members, but they don't realize that she has a very sensitive side. Behind her sweetness, she'll write out all of her flaws before saying the good stuff about herself. She's a senior in high school and although people know her sister as being the party animal and her brother being the honour student, Esme feels as if she has to live up to that expectation. Even though many people love her she never finds the right person, she dreams of falling in love with someone more than anything in the world. Since she's lacking love and comfort from her father, she just prays that another man will sweep her off her feet and protect her. Esme may not have the strongest bond with her father, but she's known for being exactly like him; spitting image in fact. She's stubborn and needs to be in absolute control. She'll build up walls and keep everyone at arm's length, until you've proven otherwise and gained her trust, you're all hers.


	2. Chapter 1

"Good morning Seattle! I hope everyone has gotten their beauty rest, and is on their way to the shopping outlets because it's Christmas Eve and everything closes at 6:00pm sharp! Shop before it's too late!"The announcer on the radio kept talking as the youngest Grey stood in her bathroom, brushing her teeth.

It was the first week of the winter break and of course that meant forgetting that school existed by unwinding and having some fun. Esme was excited to go Christmas shopping with her older brother, Teddy, whom she hasn't seen in forever since he went to university. It would've been perfect if her sister, Phoebe was here as well but she decided to spend Christmas with her boyfriend and his family in New York.

After taking a shower, she danced over to her closet as "Jingle Bells" played on the radio. Since Esme was incredibly indecisive, she grabbed the first pair of jeans she saw, a knitted sweater that her grandma made for her and slipped it on. She walked over to her dresser and looked into the mirror; grey eyes looking back at the young lady she's grown up to be. Everyone says that she looks just like her mother, but she wouldn't be able to tell the resemblance; her mom is much more beautiful, while Esme has to deal with living up to the expectations from her family members.

That's one thing Esme hated about being the youngest; she's always compared to her brother's intelligence and athletic skills as well as her sister's charity work, outspoken personality and killer beauty.

One thing that made it worse, her father was the most powerful business man in Seattle which meant the media stalked her like no tomorrow. Esme lived a life of pressure she could never run away from.

Esme applied some makeup and straightened out her long brown hair before she heard the phone ring. Rushing over to her bedside, she looked at the number and smirked.

"Good morning Teddy, are you here?" She said.

"Hey Esme, I haven't left my apartment yet. I forgot to set my alarm clock this morning so bare with me sis, you'll have to be waiting a while." Teddy sounded like he just crawled out of bed.

"Teddy you sound awful, please take a shower and eat some breakfast to wake yourself up. Don't rush; I'll be patient." She smiled softly.

"Thanks Esme, I promise I'll be there as soon as possible! See you soon" Teddy said and then hung up the phone.

Esme slipped her cell phone into her pocket and let out a sign. She walked over to her window and sat on the ledge. "What the hell am I possibly going to do in the mean time?" That's when she heard a bunch of loud thuds and banging.

"Esme honey, breakfast is ready!" She heard Gail's voice from the other room.

Time to face another world of no freedom; just pressure.

Gail has been a sweetheart to Esme and gave her enormous amount of attention since her siblings moved out. She cooked for her, taught her life skills, helped her with her homework and even gave her advice when she needed it. Gail was Esme's favourite person most days, simply because Gail was always there when she needed someone.

Esme, Theodore and Phoebe suffered a horrendous loss when they were children, their mother passed away after getting in a car accident. Theodore was 16, Phoebe was 14 and Esme was nearly 12. She was told that she looked just like her mom; it's probably the reason why her dad protects her with her entire life.

Christian Grey loved all of his three children equally, they were his main priority and he put them above any business trip, meeting, and even deals that contained killer amount of money because he knew that money was useful in life, but family held a greater amount of value. However, when the mother of his children passed away, it wasn't easy for any of them; especially Esmeralda. While Teddy and Phoebe grieved on their own way by shutting out their feelings and pretending to be strong for the sake of their baby sister, Esme was lost and confused. No one explained to her why her mother died, and her father thought it was best that way. Esme reminded Christian of her mother in every way, the way she walked, talked, and even the way she looked. So he devoured everything he could and made sure that she didn't have to feel along as they all mourned the loss of her mother.

"Esme honey, you should hurry up and finish your food before Theodore arrives. You know how impatient he could get." Esme snapped out of her train of thought once she heard Gail's voice.

"Sorry, I was just trying to wrap my head around the fact that it's already the holidays! Daddy told me that you're leaving tonight." Esme smiled as she popped a piece of her waffle in her mouth.

"He insisted that I left as early as possible, but I will be back on January 3rd, unfortunately that means I won't get to see your beautiful face for two whole weeks!" Gail winked Esme, making her smile.

"I really am going to miss you Gail, please promise me that you'll take a look under the Christmas tree before you leave though. I would be heartbroken if you forgot something that belongs to you." Esme said.

Gail dropped the dish she was washing and stared at Esme for a moment "Esme, you didn't have to get me anything. Your kindness is really appreciated but I don't deserve—"

"Hey now, the season is all about giving to the people you love the most, and quite frankly I do remember saying how much I loved you." Esme avoided eye contact from Gail, and started to hum.

Gail threw a kitchen towel at Esme, causing her to break out into a historical laugh. "Just go find your father and tell him that breakfast is ready!"

"I love you too, Gail!" Esme called out as she jogged towards her father's office. She really did believe that the holidays were all about giving and nothing made her happier than seeing the ones she cared about smiling. There has been so many tears and grieve for the past couple of years and she was sick of it. Esme knew that her family tried their best to hide all of their sadness for the sake of her, but they did a terrible job at hiding things from her; figuring out hidden feelings, hacking into computers, and finding hidden information or money was her specialty.

She popped her head into her dad's office. "Dad?" She called out, but there was no response. That's weird, he's probably in his bedroom but if he's still asleep then he'll be pissed; Christian Grey never sleeps in past 8:00AM.

She knocked on his bedroom door, but there was no response. "Daddy, are you awake?" Esme called out; moments later she heard footsteps and the door opened.

"Good morning princess, I thought you would've been gone by now." Christian looked down at his daughter as he moved aside, motioning her to walk in.

"Good morning dad, Teddy won't be here for God knows how long. He called me a few minutes ago and said that he just got out of bed; but I have a feeling that he's either hung over or has a girl in his bed." Esme plopped down onto Christian's bed.

"Esmeralda, your brother knows better than to be drinking so I doubt he has a hangover. And if he has a girl in his bed, that's none of your business, alright?" Christian tapped on Esme's nose, and then walked over to his closet.

"I know, but I'm just saying. Teddy is old enough to make his own decisions dad, let's be realistic and accept the fact that he might've done one or the other." Esme said as she looked around her dad's room.

"Hey, shouldn't I be the one giving that lecture while you try to cover his back?" Christian smirked; he knew that his daughter always had a pragmatic mindset.

"Well one of us has to say it. What are you still doing at home anyway? I thought you were working today." Esme looked over to the closet, but Christian was already inside, digging through his clothes.

"Have you forgotten that I'm the boss, meaning that no one tells me what time I need to be in that office? However, I am running a bit late, I have a full day of meetings today." Christian said, as he came out wearing a navy blue dress shirt and black dress pants.

"Mind if I take a look at your schedule book?" Esme smiled brightly, and Christian nodded once. She walked over to his dresser and picked up the notebook. "Let's see, a meeting discussing expanding Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc at 12:30. Then you'll be seeing Daniel Bishop for a brief catch up, and discussing your trip together in New York which is scheduled for 2:15. And then finally, you'll be seeing Katherine Kavanagh at 3:30 for an interview for her school newspaper. Aw cool dad, you're doing an interview for some school newspaper? That's nice of you." Esme smiled to herself as she hugged the schedule book. When she looked up, her dad was staring at her in "awe"

"You know, it makes me happy when you show some type of interest in my work Esme. One day, I hope that you further your interest and work beside me. You sounded amazing reading out my day plan, now with that voice of yours in my head, I won't forget about it." Christian cracked a smile, and folded his arms. "And yes, I agreed with doing an interview."

"Dad I think you're incredible at what you do, and I'm sure that you dream of me falling into the same business. But I'm not as good as Teddy and Phoebe, it's in their nature; your nature! But not mine." Esme's smile slowly started to fall.

Before Christian could say a word, his blackberry started to buzz. He held up one finger as he answered his phone, as he carried on with a conversation, Esme looked through the book again. Her dad had everything written in here, no wonder he never forgets about anything. She flipped the book all the way to June and skimmed through the dates until she found "June 24th". That was the day of her graduation; the day she figured out which university she wanted to attend, what career path she wanted to go with, and most importantly, if she wanted to leave her amazing dad just like her siblings did. She looked up and started at her dad as he spoke on the phone and tried to put on his watch at the same time, causing her to giggle. Esme walked over and helped him with it, when she looked up her dad smiled slightly at her and kissed her on the forehead then walked into the bathroom.

There was no way in hell she could leave her dad, not now and not ever.


	3. Chapter 2

_Hey Readers!  
You guys have no idea how big my smile was this morning when I read all of your feedback and to also see how many people favourite or alerted this story, it honestly made my entire day. It really means a lot to me that all of you took the time to read my story._

_To clear up any confusion about this story, I would like to add that Christian is thirty-nine and he was seventeen when he had Theodore. He still looks like the young, handsome man that you picture him to be, I promise! Just image that he was really good at maintaining his health and appearance. Now before you guys go crazy, I don't want to give away too much but I want to assure you that Christian still managed to start his company and followed the same path as a young adult as it states in the actual book "Fifty Shades of Grey". And most of you might have already figured out if Ana is in this story or not, but why don't you read this chapter to find out. _

_Enjoy! _

xx

Cruising through the streets with music playing full blast on the radio, Esme and Theodore couldn't be any happier. Esme looked out the window and watched as everyone had smiles on their faces as they walked with their families, friends, or maybe even their lovers. She loved seeing people happy, it showed that they were worthy enough to cancel out all of the negatives in their lives and accept the positives.

"Alright, we have only a few hours to get gifts for dad, grandma, grandpa, Aunt Mia, and Uncle Elliot. Do you have anything in mind for any of them?" Esme looked at her older brother as he drove down the high way.

"For Uncle Elliot, I was thinking about getting a new sound system for his car. He does spend a lot of time on the road anyway, so I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Teddy said as he turned down the volume on the radio.

"That's an amazing idea; do you have any idea how much that'll cost?" Esme asked as she wrote it down in her notepad.

"Don't worry; I'll take care of it. You just write down what we're planning to buy and I'll worry about the prices. I don't want to argue about money today, okay?" Teddy looked over and smiled, reassuring his little sister before looking back onto the road.

"Alright Teddy, but if anything gets out of hand just tell me. For Aunt Mia, I think she'll love this Michael Kors bag she's been talking about for months!" Esme already started writing it down.

"Sounds good to me, Aunt Mia likes anything that's currently in style anyway. For grandpa, I thought about an entire new gold clubs collection since he's been complaining about the set he has now. In fact, I'm supposed to pick them up today." Teddy said.

"You've already ordered them? Well you're lucky I trust your instinct but if they look terrible, I will personally take them back." Esme smirked.

"It's nice to know that you're still stubborn Esme. Man, I can't believe that you're going to be graduating high school in a few months I remember your first day and I told all my friends to look out for you. I swear if any of those mean girls or ignorant guys tried to intimidate you, they would've regretted it." Teddy smiled to himself.

"Yeah me too, it felt like I had my own body guards even at school." Esme rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I think that we should get grandma a pair of earrings or a necklace. She looks stunning in jewellery, especially diamonds." She said while writing in her notebook.

"And for dad, his gift is scheduled to be at my place by tonight. Do you want to stop by in the morning to take a look at it?" Teddy asked, as he pulled into the parking lot at the busy mall.

"I would love to! I honestly hope that he likes it." Esme bit her lip.

"This is one of things that he loves with his entire life, Esme. He will worship it or he'll worship us at our feet for getting it." Teddy winked at her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

It took them both three hours to find everything they needed; Teddy went off and bought the selected items for his grandfather and Uncle Elliot. He went to the electronics store and picked up the best quality sound system he could find for his grandfather. The store he ordered them from already had them wrapped and ready to be purchased. Before he went to find Esme, he went off and looked for something for someone special.

Esme focused on getting stuff for her Aunt Mia and her grandmother; she bought the handbag for her favourite aunt and even slipped in a gift card because she knows all about her Aunt Mia's crazy shopping habits. Esme thought it was exciting to Christmas shop for her family, it made her feel anxious to see the moment when they all open their presents.

Esme walked around the jewellery store looking at the diamond necklaces that almost made her blind by the way they sparkled. She had to admit, they were all stunning but nothing caught her eye.

"May I help you with something, sweetheart?" An older woman approached her from behind the counter.

"I was just looking for a necklace for my grandmother, everything here is just beautiful." Esme was mesmerized.

"Do you have a clue what your grandmother would like, or is this a surprise?" The woman asked, trying to get a clearer of what Esme would like.

"It's a gift for Christmas, but I'm waiting for the perfect necklace to pop up, y'know?" Esme said, still admiring all the jewellery.

"Give me a moment." The woman said and Esme nodded once. She didn't realize how star struck she would've been. Looking at diamonds reminded her of wedding rings and stuff that would make a girl's life feel complete.

"When the woman came back, she was holding a black box in her hand and then carefully placed it on the glass counter. Esme made eye contact with her, and arched an eyebrow. Finally the woman opened the box and Esme felt her jaw drop.

It was a heart shaped, diamond locket. It sparkled in the light, causing it to reflect every colour of the rainbow. Esme has never been so confident about a purchase, until now.

"It's…" Esme couldn't even finish her sentence.

"Beautiful." She heard a male voice from behind her. "We'll take it; grandma is going to adore this."

"Teddy, I don't care what you have to do, please get this necklace. We have to, it's just gorgeous, and do you realize how amazing grandma will look with this?" Esme went on and on about how beautiful it was practically begging him to buy it.

"Alright, alright! Could you put this under my name and account? It's Theodore Grey; I'll pay for it right now." Teddy looked at the lady and smiled softly.

"Absolutely, Mr. Grey" The woman felt chills up and down her spine when she realized who these young adults were. "Must I say, your grandmother is a very elegant woman and I think that she'll love it." She added, and motioned Theodore to her office.

"Wait here, Esme." Teddy said and then walked in her office.

Esme smiled, not because of how satisfied she was with her purchase. But by the way her brother reminded her of their dad. Even the way he said his name, Teddy managed to sound so much like their father. Esme knew that they had a legacy to maintain but Theodore carried it so well. He truly was the spitting image of Christian Grey.

Once Theodore walked out with the necklace in a small bag, they both left the mall and got into the car. It was currently 3:30p.m. But it felt like the day had just begun. They made a stop to their favourite ice cream parlour to satisfy their craving; Teddy ordered chocolate ice cream, while Esme ordered bubble gum flavoured ice cream and French vanilla for their dad.

"Are you staying over tonight for dinner? Gail is leaving this evening and it would mean a lot to her if you came by to say goodbye." Esme battered her eyelashes, sweetly, trying to convince her brother.

"Will it mean a lot to Gail, or will it mean a lot to you?" Teddy smirked, as he parked in front of Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. "Listen Esme, today really meant a lot to me but I have to get back and be at my place before dad's present arrives. Plus, a few friends invited me out tonight."

Esme pouted, but then pulled herself together and smiled. "Okay Teddy, just remember that I'll be coming by tomorrow morning. I'll call you before I leave, and we'll talk about the Christmas party. Thank you for today, you have no idea how much I've missed you bro." Esme leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you, Esme; you're probably the greatest little sister anyone would ask for. You're a brat like Phoebe but, that's an exception" Teddy said, and then pressed the button that unlocked her door. "Tell dad I said hi, and I'll talk to him later."

Esme got out of the car, and grabbed the shopping bags and the cup of ice cream for her dad. She entered the building and the first thing she saw was the door man rushing to her side.

"Good afternoon, Miss Grey, do you need help with those?" He said.

"No thank you, I was just on my way up to see if my dad was still here. Thank you for your concern, Craig." Esme nodded once, and appreciated him for pressing the elevator button for her.

Once she made it to the final floor, she stepped out of the elevator and saw all of her father's assistants behind the glass door; to her they all looked identical. She would've sworn that her dad had a thing for blondes, but surprisingly he never once flirted with any of them. Well, not in front of her at least.

One of the assistants opened the door for her and smiled brightly. "Good afternoon, Miss Grey, you look lovely today! Are you here to see your dad?"

"I am, actually. Do you know if he's still here?" Esme said as she rested some of the bags on the nearest chair, completely out of breath.

"Uh, he's currently in a meeting right now. I can tell him that you're waiting out here if you'd like." She smiled, nervously. Esme arched an eyebrow, thinking if the assistant was intimidated by her.

"Is it with Katherine Kavanagh, by any chance?" Esme asked.

"It is actually! Well, not exactly, it's with someone else. Ms. Kavanagh wasn't able to make it this afternoon, so she sent someone to fill in for her. A gorgeous woman might I add, I think you might like her." The assistant smiled. "Do you still want me to notify Mr. Grey?"

"Yes please, tell him that I'm here." Esme smiled sweetly, and then sat on the chair next to her bags. She pulled out her phone and started to occupy herself for the time being.

Moments later, the assistant came back, "Miss. Grey, your dad would like for you to come in his office now." She motioned her towards his office.

Esme rose from her seat, gathered the bags and made her way to his office. On the door it read "Christian Grey, CEO" it always made her feel a little proud inside to know her dad played such a powerful role. When she walked in the room, the first thing she noticed was the brunette sitting across from her father; they were both staring at each other, as if they just finished a heated conversation. Esme automatically felt some sort of tension in the room, she studied the young woman briefly; her posture was well, her hair was long and perfect, but Esme was anxious to see her face. She instantly looked over at her father; he had taken his eyes off of the woman and smiled at Esme.

"Anastasia Steele, I would like you to meet my youngest daughter, Esmeralda." Christian said as he got up and walked over to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ana rose from her seat and held out her hand, Esme shook it firmly. Her dad always told her that a firm hand shake says a lot about a person.

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Steele, you have gorgeous eyes." Esme smiled softly.

When Christian stood beside Esme, Anastasia could see the slight resemblance between the two, incredible beauty and remarkable charm. He took her bags and places them against the far wall, when he returned to her side; he placed his arm around her and looked down at Esme's face.

"Doesn't she, honey? Ms. Steele and I were just in the middle of an interview for her friend's school newspaper. It's starting to get quite interesting, you can stay if you'd like." He said.

"I would love to." Esme said sweetly, causing Anastasia's heart to swell in complete "awe". For some reason, Anastasia felt like Esme was Christian's way of remaining calm. And quite frankly, Anastasia had her fingers crossed that this would eliminate all awkward tension and embarrassing outbursts.

"You may precede, Ms. Steele" Christian sat down in his chair, facing the both of them. His eyes burned deeply into Anastasia, causing her to squirm in her seat.


	4. Chapter 3

Anastasia and Christian have been talking for at least 15 minutes, while Esme sat next to Anastasia and put in her input whenever she felt it was necessary. Esme took the time to look around her father's office, it was bigger than most offices she's been it, much bigger than her principal's office must she add. Her dad had all of his furniture changed often, he said that he could never be satisfied with how the way his office was arrange. However, his office at home is much more welcoming and comfortable, as a child Esme would always love going to visit her dad in his office, sit on his lap and watch him work. She knew that her dad loved her company as well, but she slowly stopped that routine once she realized how long and boring his business calls could get.

Esme noticed that something about her father wasn't right, he looked uncomfortable and often took deep breaths whenever Anastasia said something, or said nothing at all. Was it her body language? The way she asked some questions? She knew that her dad was a very private person and revealing his personal life to others was difficult for him.

Esme analyzed Anastasia carefully from head to toe; she could already tell that Anastasia was nervous and intimidated by her dad. Anastasia was fiddling with her pen, tapping the notebook every now and then, and frequently biting her lip. Her voice often shook when she spoke, and Esme was puzzled about why Anastasia was nervous. She knew that she was interviewing the one and only Christian Grey, one of the most important business man in Seattle, but usually her dad made people feel comfortable in meetings. Esme looked at her dad who was studying Anastasia as well; she wondered if he was thinking the same thing, she made a mental note to discuss this with him later on.

"Have you ever felt threatened by your success while you were obligated to raise three children?" Anastasia asked, making direct contact with Christian.

"I have never felt threatened by anyone, especially when it comes to my family or my business. They were both the main priorities in my life and I've made a choice to take care of both with absolute care." Christian's voice was stern, making frequent looks at Esme who had a proud smile on her face from listening to his answer.

"Do you think that your children, Theodore, Phoebe and Esme" Anastasia smiled at Esme, then looked back at Christian "will carry on the Grey legacy someday?"

Esme noticed that her father took a moment to think about the answer, she knew exactly what he was thinking; he talked about this all the time. Phoebe would always jump to conclusion and think that he'll brainwash us into his clones so we could run the business ourselves one day. Theodore was already on his way to being as successful as their dad. While Esme was on the fence about joining the team, or leading her own path.

"I believe that my children have enjoyed hearing about what I do, and what I am capable of doing for both Grey Enterprises, and also my family. However, my son is currently on his way to being an astonishing business man. But for my daughters, I would appreciate it if they would at least test the waters of this business, they've learned a lot from my in the past and I believe that if they continue the path they're on right now, they'll realize what is best for them. They've made frequent visits to Grey Enterprises and they've also done a couple of internship workshops over their summers, and I must say they have it in their genes. My other daughter, Phoebe, she's currently making a jump towards the business industry, while Esme is still thinking about it. I'm sure she'll make a _wise_ choice." Christian looked at Esme, giving her a look to not say a word.

Anastasia turned to Esme and smiled softly "Do you think that you'll join your dad one day?"

Esme looked at her dad again who was piercing his eyes into her, warning her not to say anything too revealing. "Well, I've always looked up to my dad and I appreciate him saying what he just stated." Esme stated, Christian exhaled, but before he could say a world, Esme cut him off. "However, I think it's best for us to decide what we want, and although his critic has been good, as young adults we are still on the fence about where we would like to be as in our occupation choice. My sister has always told me that she'd rather go into the fashion direction like my aunt has but, my father could be so stubborn sometimes." Esme smiled sweetly at her dad who was shaking his head, but when Anastasia looked at Christian, he chuckled.

"How sweet of you to say that, Esme, you never surprise me to state your honest opinion." Christian said, faking a smile. "Now sweetheart, would you leave Ms. Steele and I for a few minutes as we wrap up this interview?"

"But dad, what if I have questions for Ms. Steele?" Esme tilted her head, testing her father, before Christian could answer Anastasia grinned and turned to Esme.

"What do you have in mind, Esme? You could ask me anything." Anastasia said, still fiddling with her pen. Esme was convinced that she either intimidated Anastasia as well, or she just had a problem with twirling a pen in her hand. Esme glanced over at her dad who was giving her signals to not say a word or else!

"Esme, I swear if you blow this for me I will bury you in the ground." He mouthed to her.

"Pardon me, dad?" Esme tapped to her ear and smiled "Could you speak up?"

"Nothing honey, it's nothing." Christian reassured her, but wasn't smiling this time. Anastasia was flustered, but let out a small giggle.

"You know what; it actually just slipped my mind so I'll leave you two to finish up. Thank you so much for allowing me to sit through your interview, I never get to come to many of these." Esme said as she got up and collected all of her bags.

"Now I remember why." Christian hissed, he knew that his daughter was getting some type of satisfaction out of all of this.

"Hey dad, I'll be in the waiting area and this is for you." She walked over to his desk and placed the cup of ice cream on his desk, planted a kiss on his forehead and left the room.

"She's very sweet; I can't believe how much she resembles you Mr. Grey." Anastasia flushed.

"I can't take much credit for her, she's becoming her own person and she just has a whole bunch of tricks up her sleeves. Although, everything I do has to be ran by her or else I would get in deep trouble." Christian chucked. "And by the way, you can call me Christian, Ms. Steele"

"Well uh, Christian, I think that our interview is just about finished now. Thank you for your time and any concerns, you can contact Ms. Kavanagh." Anastasia slipped Kate's contact information onto his desk; Christian carefully looked at it and smirked.

"What if I want to be able to contact you, Ms. Steele?" Christian slightly smiled.

"Well, I'm almost certain that you'll be able to. I mean, it's not that I'm not 100 percent sure that you can contact me because you can!" Anastasia bit her lip, kicking herself for acting to nervous around him. She then pulled out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled down her email address and phone number then placed it on his desk. When he picked up the paper, she couldn't help but breathe in carefully as she absorbed that everything this man did was so astonishing.

"Before I let you go, I would like to say that we have an excellent internship here and if either you're interested I could get you in"Christian said.

"Oh no, Mr. Grey, I wouldn't fit in here, isn't it obvious?" Anastasia made subliminal messages to her hair, face, and body figure; she had to admit, everyone female who worked for him were drop dead gorgeous.

"No, it's not obvious to me actually. It's just coincidental." Christian flashed a wry smile. "Would you like me to show you around?" Christian rose from his seat and motioned her to the door.

"No thank you, I really should get going. I have somewhere to be."Anastasia got up from her seat at the same time and collected all of her things.

"Are you sure? Do you have a ride or someone to pick you up?" Christian said, and Anastasia could hear a hint of concern in his tone.

"I'm completely fine, Mr. Grey, but thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to do this interview. Your kindness is really appreciated." Anastasia smiled, but at the same time she realized this could possibly the last time she'll see him.

"Until we meet again, Anastasia and I have a strong feeling that we will come across each other very soon." Christian opened the door for her and studied her carefully. After a moment of silence between them, she slipped out of his office and walked out. Christian has never felt so magnetic to a woman in his life, there was something about that woman and he knew that he would do everything in his power to find a reason to see her again. When he snapped out of his thought, he scanned the waiting room and saw his precious daughter sitting on a chair, listening to her iPod. He had to admit, his daughter almost humiliated him in there, but he was just glad that he had a daughter that took life as a joke and not everything has to be so serious. Esme looked up and smiled brightly at him, making his heart melt.

"Ready to go, Esmeralda?" Christian said, he loved her nickname but her full name always sounded much more beautiful to pronounce.

_Thank you again for all of your input, it means a lot to me! I promise, Ana's information will be cleared up next chapter. You all are honestly so sweet, thank you for being patient and supportive. I know this chapter is a bit short, but I wanted to get it up for you guys to read. 3 _

_xo_


	5. Chapter 4

Later that evening, Esme took out everything she bought for her family members and placed them on her bed. She didn't realize how many gifts she had and how many wrapping she had to do, at times like this she wished that Gail was here to help her. First, she went over all of the gifts and made sure that they were the correct items she wrote down on her list. Once that was all taken care of, she went to the storage room to find wrapping paper and gift bags; there were certain parts in her dad's penthouse that she wasn't allowed to go in. Quite frankly, she didn't really care because she knew that her dad was used to living on his own for some time, but lately since it was just the two of them most of the time, she wanted to have access to every room.

Esme and her siblings didn't live with their dad until she turned 13, after their mother's death, their grandparents took them in for some time. She remembers the night when Teddy came in her room and tried to explain to her everything that was happening, without breaking her heart.

"_Hey peanut, how was your day at school today?" Theodore sat on her bed, their grandfather was kind enough to paint Esme's room all pink, bought every type of furniture she wanted for her room, and entire new stock of toys to make her feel comfortable. But that was also a distraction to put her mind at ease._

"_It was alright, I didn't stay back after school for practise though." Esme said, as she brushed her doll's hair slowly._

"_Why not? Isn't your soccer tournament next weekend?" Theodore raised an eyebrow._

"_Teddy, can you please tell me why we're here and not with daddy? I refuse to play soccer until I know that everything is okay." Esme frowned, causing Teddy's heart to beat a bit faster._

"_Alright kid, since you want to skip all of the small talk and get right to the point, then let's do it." Teddy took a deep breath, and then took Esme's hand. "Listen, you know how much dad loves us and you know how much fun we had when we got to spend the entire summer with him and every holiday. But right now, he's still processing the fact that mom is—"Teddy took another deep breath. "Look, it's hard for dad to accept the fact that he's going to have to be a full time parent; he's always out of town with work that's why we barely get to see him. Imagine having to sacrifice your soccer games because your little doll here was sick, and she needed you. Would you have that opportunity to drop your soccer games so suddenly?"_

"_No, coach is kind of strict whenever we do miss practise. But that's different Teddy, dad is a parent and we're his kids! He kind of signed up for this when he decided to have three kids, y'know!" Esme was getting irritated, she was annoyed with everything. "I just wish that we didn't have to get dumped here in grandma and grandpa's house." _

"_I know Esme, it's difficult for everyone. Dad's being a bit stubborn right now because it's hard for him. If you want, I can call him and you can talk to him." Teddy said._

"_I'm not ready to speak to him right now, can we do it tomorrow?" Esme frowned._

"_Of course, now come here princess." Teddy opened his arms and Esme buried her head into her brother's chest. Teddy stroked her hair and held her until she fell asleep, he was amazed that after all of what has happened, she barely whined or cried. Esme was a strong person, just like their dad._

Esme shook her head and snapped out of her thought; she was puzzled why she was having frequent flashbacks of the past. She vowed to herself that she wouldn't dwell anymore and what had happened when she was a young teenager was over now.

She went back to her room and was in the process of wrapping the gifts when she heard her father's voice, although he wasn't calling her name, it sounded like he was having a conversation with someone. Was he on the phone? Was he speaking to Taylor? Sawyer? She smirked, and ignored it.

Once she was finished, she carried all of the wrapped gifts and gift bags into the living room to put them under the tree. When she walked past the kitchen, she noticed that her dad was sitting on the stool, eating a piece of pie and chatting away on his phone. She rolled his eyes and mumbled "Workaholic."

"Watch your mouth, Esmeralda." Her father said under his breath, making Esme giggle.

Esme placed all of the gifts under the tree and smiled to herself, this year it seemed like the tree was bigger and there were much more presents this time. She sat down on the floor in front of the tree, next to a love chair and admired it for a moment, she could feel her father's eyes burying into her back which made her smirk.

"Until we meet again, I will contact you in the morning for further details." Christian said, hung up the phone and slammed it onto the table causing Esme to jump.

"Is everything alright, dad?" Esme asked.

"Not really, I might have to extend my trip in New York due to some screw ups with the company. Who knew that people went back to work right after Christmas, and I thought I was bad." Christian got up and walked over to the cabinet to pour himself a glass of wine.

"Well dad, remember that one time when you missed half of Christmas day due to important deals." Esme rolled her eyes; she was fourteen at the time.

"Is it a crime that I love what I do, and if that means that I have to sacralise a few things, then I will. I sacrifice a lot of stuff for you and your siblings don't I?" Christian took a sip of his cold alcohol, making him instantly feel suddenly relaxed.

Esme didn't answer that question; she didn't want to go down that path because at one point in her life that statement wasn't true. She heard her dad walk towards her, and sat on the love chair that she was sitting next to. She leaned her head on his leg, and heard her dad smirk.

"What'd you think of Ms. Steele this afternoon?" Christian asked.

"I like her, she seems sweet and I think she'll be amazing at whatever she wants to do in the future. I barely know anything about her though, so I can't really state a clearer opinion yet." Esme said.

"She's 29 and this is her final year in school, before you came in, she told me that she took a couple of years off from school to travel with her friends. She looks quite young for her age, huh. She's thinking about moving to Seattle when she graduate, I was thinking about attending her graduation, it's the least she could do for featuring me in her school news paper" Christian said, he's been thinking about her face all day.

"You asked her about her personal life or did she just tell you? Because, I know for a fact that you could care less about someone's personal information." Esme was actually a bit surprised.

"She seems like an interesting young woman and I like to dig for deep information in the ones that I'm interested in." Christian said calmly.

"Wait a minute dad, what do you mean 'dig for deep information in the ones you're interested in'? She wasn't even the actual person who was scheduled for the interview, and I've never heard reveal so much about a person before." Esme raised an eyebrow and looked up at her dad who was clearly not listening to her. He was too busy day dreaming while sipping his wine.

"There's just something about her, you wouldn't understand what I see in her and I'm not going to explain it to you." Christian mumbled.

"I think that she's intimidated by you." Esme smirked; Christian looked down at her and raised an eyebrow, urging her to elaborate. "Just the way she acted when she was in your office, they way you looked at her, spoke to her or even spoke to me, it was like she had chills running up and down her spine or something. She was so intrigued, a little scared too."

"You think she's scared of me?" Christian asked, masking his actual emotion.

"Dad, you scare everyone 'cept for me." Esme smiled. "Have you looked in the mirror? When you walk in a room, it goes dead silent because all eyes are on you, just waiting for your next move."

"So now everyone's scared of me, huh? Except for you?" Christian ruffled Esme's hair. "Thank you for your input Esme, but you don't have to worry much about Ms. Steele. She's a pleasant and beautiful woman, but I think that's the last we both will be seeing of her." Christian lied; he knew that he was going to see Anastasia again. But for his own personal reasons that Esme wasn't aware of.

"Whatever you say dad, but if you ask me I would've became friends with her on the spot." Esme got up and went over to the kitchen. "Hey, what are we eating for dinner tonight? I don't think Gail left anything."

"I think we should stay in tonight, I have an early day in the morning. I can tell Taylor to get us something if you'd like." Christian said.

"Oh dad before I forget!" Esme came back into the living room and sat on the arm of Christian's chair. "I'm going to Teddy's house first thing in the morning; can I catch a ride with you and Taylor?"

"Catch a ride, excuse me? Since when do you use slang?" Christian raised an eyebrow. "And where are your manners?"

"May I catch a ride with you and Taylor, please my dearest father?" Esme said in a British accent to mock what her dad meant by 'manners'.

"Of course you can, Esme, as long as you wake up early enough then I don't see why not." Christian smiled.

"Thank you daddy, I'm gonna go call Teddy and tell him right now!" Esme jumped up and ran off to her room. Christian watched as his daughter happily ran off like a little child who was just given candy.

The only thing that made him feel accomplished at the end of the day was a glass of wine and a smile on his daughters face; he wanted to make sure that he could spend the rest of his life making up for all of the times he wasn't there for her. She always needed him, and he needed her.

But for some reason, Anastasia Steele's face kept popping up in his head. He knew exactly why and every time he convinced himself to get rid of his habits for the sake of his children, there was always someone who walked into his life to change his mind. And as of this moment, he needed Anastasia.

Badly.


	6. Chapter 5

It was a stormy night, the lightening was lighting up the sky and thunder roaring through the city that never sleeps. Esme tossed and turned, her words were slurred as she talked in her sleep and tears starting to build up in her eyes.

"_Esme, you have to wake up now honey, hurry up and get your things!" Phoebe shook her violently, Esme's eyes were wide; she was confused about where she was and what was happening._

"_Esme get off of your ass and let's go! We're not safe here, grandpa is waiting for us downstairs" She watched her sister throw clothes into a suitcase, going in and out of the bathroom and closets._

"_What's happening, Phoebe, where are we going?" Esme's voice shook, but Phoebe wasn't listening to her. "Phoebe why aren't you answering me? Where's mommy and teddy?" Esme watched her sister take the suitcases and leave her room. She ran up to the door but it wouldn't open, she tried her hardest to pull the door but it wouldn't budge. "Phoebe, wait!" She shook the door handle but it eventually broke and her entire room went into darkness, she curled up into a little ball and was completely frightened. The lightening hit closer and closer, the thunder was louder and louder, she was surrounded by loneliness with nowhere to go. She was trapped, left alone to rot._

Esme screamed and sat up on her bed, tears rolling down her face, and heart beating out of her chest. It took her a moment to catch her breath and remember where she was, and whatever just happened; it was all just a dream. Another nightmare, the fifth time all month and it was starting to scare the hell out of her. She wiped her tears, slowly crept over to her window and sat on the ledge looking outside; she watched as Seattle was lit up by the street lights, cars passing by in the city and how the rain from the sky was crystal on her window. She hugged her feet and started to sob, it was hard for her to function on nights like this. This is the time when she broke down to her lowest part and no one would know about it, it made her go insane because this meant she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, but she knew that she would be able to mask her hurt in the morning and be alright.

As time went by, Esme started to feel calm and she felt her tears going away, she knew that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anytime soon because she was still shaken up by her dream. So, she decided to go out into the living room and pull out a family photo book that her dad kept by the fire place. She sat on the couch and began to flip through the book while the memories started to flow in.

Her mom treated her and her siblings as if they were gold; her name was Gabriella Fiore, she owned a small bakery and enjoyed baking with her kids. Theodore learned most of his cooking skills from her while Phoebe and Esme just gained a major sweet tooth. Esme remembers that her mother would always come in her room at night to tuck her in, but whenever Esme asked her about her dad, Gabriella would shiver, but eventually smile at her daughter and say _"He has his own responsibilities and needs to take care of."_

_One evening when Theodore was helping Phoebe and Esme with their homework, he made sure that their mom wasn't around before he got off topic. _

"_Alright, I found out some information about mom and dad." Theodore whispered._

"_Well hurry up and spill loser, before mom hears!" Phoebe snapped._

"_They met in their senior year of high school and apparently they thought that they were the love of each other's lives. But when mom got pregnant with me, dad freaked out and refused to believe that he had the ability of getting her knocked up. Eventually after two months of hell, dad apologized and promised mom to give her the entire world and whatever she desired. So mom said that she wanted two more children, preferably a daughter and a son." Theodore looked at Esme "Sorry kid, I guess you were more than mom and dad bargained for."_

Esme smiled at all of the wonderful moments she remembered about her parents but something wasn't right; why did her mom get killed so viciously? The only thing she clearly remembers was her grandmother sobbing and her grandfather sitting on the couch across from Theodore, Phoebe and Esme one night in their home.

"_We will do everything we can to provide for the three of you, your dad has been contacted and will be here first thing in the morning. Your mother would've wanted this for all three of you and until we unlock her will, we'll take you all into temporary custody. I know that the news will be covering all of this but I want you to not believe anything that they put out there, do you hear me?" Carrick said, sternly. They nodded and looked at each other._

"_Do you know what happened to mom?" Theodore asked, on behalf of his siblings._

"_She was targeted and shot, we aren't aware of whom the suspect is yet but we believe that it was a woman." Carrick mumbled "Whoever it is, they wouldn't harm you for as long as I live." _

Xxxxx

A week went by and it was finally Christmas morning, when Christian got up from bed he heard Christmas music playing from the living room and he smelled pancakes. He felt like he was a little kid again which made him crack a smile, and then he realized that Gail wasn't here and Esme had no idea how to light the stove. So who on earth was cooking? He jumped out of bed, quickly went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, look decent and then finally made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, son, Merry Christmas!" Carrick turned around and smiled at his son, he was wearing casual clothes with an apron on.

"Merry Christmas dad, what are you doing here?" Christian chuckled, enjoying the smell of the food that was being placed onto the table.

"Well Grace had to go by the hospital this morning; she got called in before 6AM so I don't think she'll be off until this afternoon. Having said that, I decided to stop by here before I go off to see Mia and Elliot." Carrick put down the spatula and opened up his arms. "Now, I know you're all grown up but you're never too old to hug your old man on Christmas morning."

Christian moved over to his dad and gave him a hug, he always had a great amount of respect and love for Carrick; he was the man whom Christian would connect and talk to about anything.

"Where's Esme? I assumed that she should be out here opening all of her presents." Christian arched his eyebrow; he had to admit the best part about Christmas was watching his kids open the presents under the tree in their pajamas.

"She's still in bed; she doesn't even know that I'm here. I wanted to surprise the both of you with breakfast first." Carrick placed two plates filled with food onto the table. "I spoke to her on the phone a couple of nights ago, y'know."

"Should I be concerned about this phone call?" Christian asked.

"She's been having nightmares again; you've got to talk to her about it sometime, Christian. I know that you're trying to connect with her but you don't know how to deal with the things that scare her and it's just making things worse for the both of you. She told me that she's been having dreams about being trapped in a dark room and no one came back for her, she spoke as if it was in future tense." Carrick whispered, fearing that Esme would walk out at any moment.

"There's nothing to talk about, nightmares will be nightmares and if they get worse she'll find the courage to tell me. If she's talking to you, then it's probably because she's more comfortable about being around you and not me." Christian said.

"You didn't mean a damn word you just said; because I see the way you look at her. It's scaring you that she's going through this and you don't know how to talk to her about it because hell, I think you're scared too." Carrick folded his arms, and leaned against the counter. For a moment, they both stared at each other in complete silence. Christian knew that Carrick had gotten his point across; there was nothing he could hide from him so Christian shook his head and started to eat his breakfast.

"You talk to her about it very soon, or else the next time she calls me in the middle of the night crying her eyes out then I'm coming to get her." Carrick growled, it was rare for Christian to be threatened, but having his kids taken away from him again was a fear he didn't want to face. "I'm going to the washroom, I'll be right back." Carrick said and walked off.

Christian took out his phone and checked his emails, he was trying to convince himself that he shouldn't be fazed by the threats his father was throwing at him.

"Merry Christmas, dad!" Esme squealed, Christian turned and saw his little girl in the doorway, wearing her pajamas, bed hair and the brightest smile he's seen all morning.

"Merry Christmas Esmeralda, now come here" Christian opened his arms; Esme walked over to him and buried herself into his arms. Christian kissed the top of her head; he was happy to see her but also worried if she either slept peacefully last night or if she didn't sleep at all.

"Wow, you cooked breakfast? You haven't touched the stove in forever; I'm surprised that you didn't burn anything!" Esme took a good whiff of the food and then turned to the Christmas tree.

"Shall we?" Christmas motioned to the area where the tree was and she nodded. "We'll probably have to take all of the presents that aren't yours to grandma and grandpa's house later on since the rest of the family will be there."

"Grandma is still holding her annual Christmas party?" Esme kneeled down in front of the tree while Christian sat on the couch.

"Indeed she is, princess!" Carrick answered, Esme was puzzled about why she heard her grandfather's voice, and then she quickly turned around and smiled.

"Grandpa, what are you doing here?!" Esme ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"I came over to surprise you and make breakfast for both you and your dad. I didn't realize how late you would've slept in, it's almost 11:30" Carrick raised an eyebrow.

"I couldn't sleep last night; I was way too excited about today! I can't wait to see Aunt Mia, Uncle Elliot, and grandma! Along with all of the hundred other people you guys always invite." Esme smirked.

"Honey, why don't you open your presents right now so grandpa can see what you received before he leaves." Christian was irritated due to the fact that his daughter did not sleep last night, did she experience another nightmare? Was it getting worse than he thought it was?

"Okay daddy" Esme smiled brightly, and then walked over to the Christmas tree and began to dig into her presents. Carrick put his hand on Christian's shoulder and looked down at him, it was the type of look warning Christian to do something or else Carrick will.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

It was around 2:00PM when Christian got off the phone with all of his business partners finalizing his trip to New York; apparently this was one of the biggest opportunities he could've received for expanding his company and he couldn't be any more satisfied. This was going to be an amazing trip because this was the first time Esme was tagging along with him, the look on her face this morning when she opened that tiny box with a first class plane ticket New York City melted his heart.

There trip was extended until January 2nd, so they were able to spend as much time as they could with Phoebe and they had the opportunity to spend New Years in the big apple. Christian loved to spoil his children, so he was excited to give Teddy and Phoebe their presents as well as Esme's final gift as soon as it arrived.

He heard someone open his office door, when he looked up it was Taylor making his way up to his desk. He convinced Taylor to take the entire week off and that everything would be handled, but for some reason Taylor refused. Although, he was taking this evening off as soon as he took Christian and Esme to Grace's Christmas party.

"Sir, there's a man downstairs claiming that he has a delivery for you." Taylor reported, dressed in a navy blue buttoned up shirt and black dress pants.

"Thank you Taylor, have you let them in?" Christian rose from his seat, collecting his wallet and keys.

"I haven't sir, he said that the delivery is rather large and it's best if you came downstairs to see for yourself." Taylor said, he knew exactly what it was because Teddy and Esme told him about it earlier in the month.

"What do you mean it's large? What the hell is being delivered here?" Christian hissed, and made his way into the foyer. When he pressed the elevator door, he heard Esme's voice. He turned around and saw her anxiously sprinting towards him.

"It's here! Daddy, I need you to put this one!" Esme held up a piece of cloth.

"Esme, what the hell are you doing? I'm not putting on anything until you explain to me why and if you ordered something without telling me about it God so help me…"Christian growled.

"Technically dad, I didn't order it myself." Esme mumbled. "Teddy did most of the paper work while I just picked it out." Esme grinned, and then held up the cloth higher. "Now will you please for the sake of arguing over the wrong reasons, put this on and trust me."

"Esme…" Christian pleaded.

"Daddy, you have to trust me for the millionth time, why is that so hard for you?" Esme raised her voice.

Christian took a breath and motioned Esme to proceed with covering his eyes. If only she knew that it wasn't just her that he couldn't trust 100%, it was everyone. He felt the cloth guide across his skin and eventually over his eyes; he twitched a couple of times as Esme tied the cloth tightly at the back of his head. He felt highly uncomfortable and in the wrong position. He wasn't used to doing this, and even though he got the pleasure out of doing this to other woman, he couldn't deal with being in this situation.

Esme took his hand, but Christian jerked it out of her hold, which made Esme arch an eyebrow. "Are you alright, dad?"

"I'm fine, sorry. I can walk towards to elevator myself, thank you." Christian turned around and slammed right into a wall, which wall was it? He didn't even know. All he heard was giggles behind him which made him even more aggravated. "Damn it Taylor if that's you laughing you can say goodbye to your raise."

Taylor quickly stopped laughing and looked down at Esme who was trying to hold in her urge to giggle. "Dad, can I take your hand now or are you going to throw another hissy fit?"

Christian held out his hand and said nothing, Esme took that as a yes and grabbed his hand, and then they both walked in the elevator. Christian heard a few footsteps before he heard the elevator door close, it was probably the longest 20 seconds of his life, and he felt limited and claustrophobic.

The elevator door finally opened and Esme smiled brightly, she guided her dad out to the main lobby and then untied his blindfold. Christian opened his eyes and was stunned by what he saw in front of him. All of the anger he felt suddenly went away, he couldn't believe what was in front of his eyes, and he couldn't believe that his children did this for him.

"Merry Christmas daddy, this is from Phoebe, Theodore and I. We knew how much you loved music and we wanted you to know how much we love you." Esme said sweetly.

They bought him a brand new piano; it was all black with a grey ribbon on the top. The keys were glistening, while the jet black paint on the piano made it seem like it was too perfect to place his fingers on. The bench was cushioned, the peddles were brown and there was a bunch of music books piled on the piano. Christian slowly walked over to it and ran his finger tips on it before he sat down onto the bench; it felt like sitting on a brand new mattress, spongy and soft. He quickly looked through the books piled on the piano and was satisfied with the collection his children picked out. Finally, he placed one of his fingers on the key and the note that played sounded like heaven.

"We thought that you would like a new piano because the one upstairs has been there for ages. Grandpa said that it was his and when you moved out, it was his gift to you. I was hoping that you would throw that one out now that you have this one. Phoebe picked out the books because she said that you would always look at the collection when you took her to the music store. Teddy made all of the phone calls and made sure that it was freshly painted and furnished. And for me, I picked out the piano myself. It kind of reminded me of you, the first time I laid eyes on it dad, I could picture you sitting there like you are now and just losing yourself in the music. I really hope you like it, on behalf of Teddy and Phoebe. We wanted to make sure that you knew how much you meant to us, you mean the entire world to us. Just like how music means the entire world to you." Esme smiled.

"No Esme, music doesn't mean the entire world to me. Who needs music when I have the most stimulating children in the entire world, where did I go right to deserve such sweet hearts like you three?" Christian wiped away a tear and then opened his arms. "Come here, princess."

Esme walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Christian was man who thought he didn't deserve the amount of love his children gave him; for all of the shit he put them through he deserved nothing.

But clearly, they showed him that he deserved infinite love.


	7. Chapter 6

**I really hope you guys are enjoying the story! I read each and every one of your responses and it's just so motivating. Trust me when I say that all of your questions will be answered very soon. Have an amazing Sunday! **

**xo**

Christian watched his daughter give the gifts to his parents, and smiled as their faces lit up. Grace and Carrick held Esme in their arms tightly and kissed the top of her head, Christian was happy that his princess was filling everyone's hearts with joy because he sure knows that he filled his heart with love this afternoon. He leaned against the wall and sipped a glass of wine as he watched other people mingle around the banquet hall Grace rented for the night; she always held a Christmas party for her family, friends and people that no one knew accept for her.

"Is that your 10th glass for the night old man?" He heard someone say to him, Christian turned around and was about to curse whoever said that to him but when he saw who it was he smiled.

"That is none of your concern Theodore, but I'm never too old to give you a hug." Christian pulled his son into a hug and they both chuckled, when they released Christian looked at his son carefully; he was shaved, his hair was growing out a bit, but he looked sharp in his suit and black shoes. "Thank you so much for the gift you gave me, it was the best gift I could've received."

"Did Esme give you that little speech? She called me and said that you were crying like a baby" Theodore laughed.

"Listen to me, I did cry because I was happy but we will never mention that for as long as I live alright?" Christian mumbled, and then smiled. "It's so good to see you son, we have to catch up."

"I've been planning on catching up with you but you're always so damn busy!" Theodore smirked, and then took a glass of champagne as a waiter walked by.

"Well I'm sorry that I have to work all the time but I wanted to make that up to you." Christian smiled, and then dug into his pocket pulling out a tiny box. Theodore took it and arched an eyebrow, without asking questions he open the box and saw a plane ticket.

"No way, I'm going to New York too?!" Theodore's face lit up and looked at his dad.

"I assume Esme spilled all of the details on her presents to you." Christian smirked "She always had a big mouth."

"She did actually, I was a bit jealous of her when she did but now I get to rub it in her face. However, you kind of stole my idea when you said that she was getting the advantage of spending all the time she'd like with Phoebe." Theodore said, and then looked at his watch. "In fact, she should be making a special appearance any moment now."

"You invited her?" Christian grinned, but Theodore did nothing but shrug his shoulders.

"TEDDY!" Esme squealed and gave him the biggest hug ever.

"Merry Christmas kid, we were just talking about you!" Theodore kissed her forehead.

"I have your gift for you, but it's up in grandma and grandpa's suite!" She frowned. "Hopefully you'll stick around and I can give it to you after the party."

"I'll be sticking around as long as you'd like, but I think we'll be seeing each other a lot for the next few days." Theodore held up the plane ticket and watched as his little sister jumped around for a moment.

"I swear, this day couldn't get any better!" Esme smiled.

As the night started to settle in, Mia and Elliot made their entrance to the party making it seem a little bit livelier. Carrick and Grace were introducing Esme to a couple of people while Christian was talking with some business partners with Theodore; everyone was having the time of their lives and it has been the best way to spend the holiday.

Theodore looked over his shoulder and noticed a certain face out of everyone in the crowd. He smiled and watched as the 5''7, medium length blonde hair, wearing a short white dress and heels; Theodore had to admit, for someone who used to pick her nose all day when she was four, his sister looked like a goddess.

"The princess of the party has arrived!" Phoebe smiled as she approached Theodore and her father.

Christian turned around and took a good look at his daughter, as much hell she put him through he was glad to see her. She always completed the family no matter how much trouble she caused.

"Aw dad, you look sharp tonight! I wouldn't be surprised if you walked out of here with someone trying to get it in." Phoebe smirked.

"Phoebe, that's inappropriate whomever I walked out with or do things with will never, be any of your business. Now you could at least give me a hug before you get on my last nerves." Christian groaned.

Phoebe couldn't help but smile when she was pulled into her dad's arms; it was the safest place she has ever felt.

"You know that I've missed you terrible and I'm only here to make your night a living hell." Phoebe kissed her dad's cheek.

Before Christian could say anything, Phoebe looked past him as she saw her little sister approaching her. "Esme, you looked adorable honey!" Phoebe hugged her tightly.

"I missed you Phoebe, I can't believe you made it! I thought you aid all the flights were booked." Esme frowned.

"Well they were booked for yesterday and today, but Teddy flew me out here a couple of days ago and I've been crashing at his place ever since! He told me about the little trip dad planned for you." Phoebe winked.

"I hope you don't have any wild activities planned for her, Phoebe Grey." Christian growled.

"Oh dad, you know me so well!" Phoebe smiled, proudly. "I'm just happy that I get to spend the next couple of weeks with my family!"

Christian already wanted to strangle here but as long as everyone was happy, he was pleased.

Once everyone settled in to the party, things were going well until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he looked at the caller ID and was completed stunned. It was Anastasia.

"Hello, Ms. Steele?" Christian walked away from where most of the noise was coming from and stood in the corner with his back turned.

"Christian… why do you do this to me?" Her speech was slurred.

"Excuse me? Have I done something to appall you?" Christian asked.

"I wanted you and I thought you wanted me too, but you didn't!" Now she sounded like she was sobbing.

"Anastasia, what the hell are you talking about and where are you?" Christian was confused.

""I want you Christian; I could've been with you if you chose me! But now I'm with Jose and he just doesn't understand that I'm only his friend and nothing more." Ana had tears streaming down her eyes.

"Ana, tell me where you are and who is Jose? If he's making you feel uncomfortable tell me now and I'll come get you."

"Jose thinks that he's my boyfriend but I have someone else in mind. Too bad he doesn't even think about me as much as I think of him." Ana sobbed and then hung up the phone.

Christian felt confused and had no idea what move he should make next; was that a drunken Ana or was she pouring her heart out to him? Whichever it was, he needed to go get her and make sure she was safe, so he made a quick call to Sawyer telling him to trace her number and pick him up in five minutes. He scanned the room for his parents; they were busy chatting away with some of their co-workers. He looked around and spotted his children sitting next to each other and catching up; Phoebe caught him staring and smiled. He half smiled and then took a deep breath, they were going to hate him for leaving so suddenly but he had no other choice.

"What's wrong bro, you look like you're in deep thought which is rare." Elliot chuckled and then handed him a glass of wine.

"Elliot, I need you to come with me to take care of something, I'll tell you more about it in the car alright?" Christian said to him, Elliot saw the concern in his eyes so he nodded without asking any further questioned.

"You wouldn't want mom and dad asking questions so let's sneak out though the back, follow me." Elliot led the way.

When they got outside, Elliot was already pulled up at the side. Christian was impressed that his staffs were always there for him whenever he called. Elliot and Christian slipped into the black car and Sawyer sped off into the night.

"She was at this address when she made the phone call." Sawyer handed Christian a piece of paper with an address on it. "I could take you there if you'd like." Sawyer offered.

"She's at a bar on Christmas?" Christian felt anger and concern enter his system.

"Who is this girl you're chasing after, James Bond?" Elliot raised an eyebrow.

"She's a… She's someone who made a phone call to me and I think she's helplessly drunk. I'm afraid that this guy she was crying about is on the verge of taking advantage of her so I want to make sure for myself that she's going to be okay." Christian said without looking Elliot in his eyes, he was partially lying but he wanted to avoid being questioned.

"You know for a second I thought that this girl was your girlfriend or something but if she's in trouble then I'll let this one slide." Elliot said "For now."

"Just promise me that you'll have my back, if mom and dad question you about why you left the party so suddenly then I'll cover you." Christian said. Elliot nodded and he knew from that moment he could count on his brother tonight.

Sawyer pulled up in front of the bar, Elliot and Christian quickly jumped out and searched the perimeter for Anastasia.

"Over here!" Christian called out, he saw Anastasia being bent over a garbage can throwing up vulnerably. Christian walked over to her and grabbed her hair, he watched as she struggled to get everything out so he rubbed her back. Once she was finished, she pulled up and wiped her mouth.

He took a good look at her and was impressed, even when she was drunk she looked stunning. Her brown hair fell down her back; her face was pale but her outfit hugged her curves well in all the right places.

"Christian…" She whispered.

"I told you I would come if you just said the word, now where are you belongings? I'm taking you home." He said.

"Why did you come? I thought you would've hated my guts after that idiotic phone call, it wasn't my intention to say those things to you." She frowned, tears filling up her eyes.

"Hush, show me where your stuff are and we will talk about it when you sober up." Christian's voice was stern. Anastasia weakly held up her finger and pointed inside the bar, they walked into the loud bar and towards the booth where she left her jacket and purse.

"Ana! Where the hell did you go, are you okay?" A blonde woman grabbed Ana's hand and spun her around.

"Sorry Kate I can't stay, I have to leave now. All of this is too overwhelming." Ana frowned. Kate looked at Christian and her mouth dropped.

"Oh my gosh, it's you!" Kate was frozen in place.

"Christian, you never told me that you knew such beautiful women" Elliot looked straight at Kate "Your boyfriend must be so proud to have you around his arm."

"Who, me? Oh no, I don't have a boyfriend." Kate blushed.

"Good, because I don't want anyone interrupting us while we're dancing." Elliot gently took her hand and led Kate to the dance floor.

Ana and Christian stood there for a moment and watched as they both moved perfectly on the dance floor. It was like they were meant to dance together.

"I am so sorry Christian, I probably ripped you away from whatever plans you had tonight because of my silly actions." Ana pleaded.

"Dance with me, you said that you wanted me and now I'm here. So dance with me Anastasia." Christian whispered in her ear, she started at him, puzzled but finally she gave in and took his hand. They both walked to dance floor and Christian guided her hips and they both swayed to the music.

Christian felt her awkward tension when she moved, so he grasped her hips tighter and put him in complete control.

"Feeling alright?" He whispered to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay but you're an incredible dancer." She smiled.

"And you Anastasia, you're a terrible dancer." He said, Anastasia giggled and Christian felt a tingle when he heard her laugh.

"You know, you shouldn't trust a man who could dance." Christian smirked.

"Well that's a pity because whomever came up with that saying was an idiot." Anastasia whispered, moments later she passed out in his arms. Christian caught her and lifted her up; he assumed that now that the alcohol kicked in, this was his cue to take her home.

Anastasia in his arms somehow made his Christmas end on a good note. Much better than he expected.


	8. Chapter 7

Christian felt the sunrays on his eyelids; slowly he opened his eyes and quickly squinted by the amount of light that was in the room. Every part of his body was sore, his head was spinning out of control, his back was all tightened up and his legs felt like they haven't been stretched out in days. He groaned and all he could think about was the pain, "oh hell, what did I do last night?" He thought to himself.

Finally, he quickly realized where he was, he was curled up on a couch in his guest room that was against the wall facing the window. He got up and immediately stretched out every inch of his body; he knew that he had slept horribly by the condition of how he had his body placed on the small couch. Once he finished, he looked around for his cell phone, but was nearly frightened when he heard someone make a yawning noise. He quickly looked up and noticed that someone was lost in a pile of blankets and pillows on the bed.

"Who the hell did I have here, last night?" Christian felt his heart stop and tried to trace everything that happened last night.

He remembered being with his family last night at a Christmas party, everyone was mingling and having a good time. His kids were there, his parents were interacting with all of the guests, and his siblings were there— Elliot! He remembers being with Elliot alone for a part of the night, they were driving and he remembers Sawyer giving him an address to somewhere—Anastasia!

It had to be Anastasia piled up under those blankets, she was so distraught last night by all of the drunken thoughts and sober words that she confessed to him. For some strange reason, Christian was glad that she called him to come and take her home, by the looks of everything, her friends were allowing her to walk around in a terrible condition. Christian tried to remember why he didn't take Anastasia to her home, and then it all made sense—she had passed out in his arms and the only thing he could think about was her safety. He wasn't going to drop her off at some hotel room and leave without explaining to her what had happened the morning after, she would've thought that she had gotten taken advantage of.

Christian slowly walked over to the bed, and quietly moved the blanket off of her face. He expected to see her makeup smudged all over her face and her hair in a mess but surprisingly, it was the complete opposite. Her hair flowed beautifully on her face and on the pillow, he couldn't tell if she was wearing light make up or if it was her natural face but it was glowing, her cheeks looked full of colour and her lips were full. How was she able to look so angelic while sleeping?

Moments later, he felt himself thinking about things that weren't acceptable for a time like this, so he quickly grabbed his phone and walked out of the guest room. The first thing he wanted to make sure was that Anastasia was taken care of when she woke up, so he made a few phone calls to Taylor to pick up some clean clothes from any boutique and bathroom necessities. He wanted to make sure that breakfast was taken care of but he didn't know what Anastasia liked and didn't like. What if she was a vegetarian? What if she had any allergies? So he set aside some money and settled to take her to the local coffee shop just around the corner.

Christian felt like he was doing a million things at once to take care of someone he barely knew, that he had completely forgotten about more important priorities—taking care of himself. Once Taylor came back with the things, Christian told Taylor to set them in the guest room and if Anastasia had woken up, he was in the shower.

Taylor nodded once and proceeded to do what he was told.

"Mr. Grey, would you like to know anything else?" Taylor turned around and asked him.

Christian thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, is there something that I should know of?" Christian could tell that Taylor seemed a bit on edge.

"You haven't asked about your kids all morning." Taylor said, highly afraid of what Christian's reaction would be.

"What about them? By all means Taylor, I'm pretty sure that they're capable of taking care of themselves for the morning. They don't need me to be tracking their every movement." Christian said.

"With all due respect sir, Esme was asking about you all night when you disappeared. She came here, but you weren't around, so Theodore and Phoebe took her with them. I think you should give them a call, at least." Taylor stood a little more confident, he felt a bit better knowing that he was standing up for the children.

"Taylor, if they need me they know where to contact me. Thank you for your concerns." Christian said, sternly. Without anything else to say, Taylor turned and proceeded to the guest room.

Once Christian was finished taking a shower, he changed into a blue dress shirt, black dress pants and formal shoes; even though it was the day after Christmas, he still had to work. He went into the kitchen, still no sign of Anastasia; what if she was still asleep? He thought. As tempting as it was to go check on her, he didn't want to invade her privacy in case she was awake; then again it was his house. That's when it hit him, what the hell was he doing? Anastasia was practically a stranger to him; it's not like he had any type of relations with her whatsoever. She wasn't even accounted enough to be called a "friend" or even an "acquaintance". He was on the verge of barging into the guest room and telling her to leave, it was unacceptable for her to call him like that last night and now she's laying in one of his beds. What would his family say if they were to find out? Even though he barely cares about what his family thinks of his actions, it still portrays a lack of respect for himself and his household. He began to walk over to the room, but then the door opened and out she came.

The two stood in silence for a moment and stared at each other for a moment; Anastasia was wearing a white blouse and blue jeans, a pair of converse and her hair loosely fell down her back, beautifully. Not a drop of make-up was on her face, but it was still glowing, just as it was in this morning while she was asleep.

In that entire moment of silence, Christian forgot about all of the reasons why he didn't want to have anything to do with her. Instead, all of his thoughts were replaced with every reason why he should get to know her.

"Good morning, Anastasia. Slept well?" Christian cleared his throat, all she did was nod. "I see, well I had Taylor get you some clothes because I didn't want you to go home in the same clothes you came in. If you want to discuss about what happened last night, I'll be more than happy to talk to you about it. However, I think that you should get something to eat, you've been on an empty stomach since you passed out."

"I'm not hungry; I'll be fine, thank you for your concern." Anastasia said, shyly. "Mr. Grey, before anything I would like to apologize for what I did last night. I don't remember much but it was out of order for me to call you under such poor circumstance. I understand if you're upset but I would like to let you know what it will never happen ever again. I don't know what happened to me, it was probably the alcohol or maybe a mixture of overwhelming feelings. However, I will repay you somehow."

"First and for most, Ms. Steele, what you did was out of order and you're absolutely right; it will never happen ever again because you won't be drinking any heavy substances anymore. It's bad for your health and well-being. Second, there is no possible way you could repay me; I would've rather you called me if you had no one else to come and look after you. But, there is a way that you can repay me." Christian said, strictly.

"What would that be?" Anastasia widened her eyes; she was mentally crossing her fingers that her offer would've been rhetorical.

"You would let me take you out for breakfast this morning; I still want to talk about what you said to me last night." Christian said.

"Wait, how could we talk about something that happened last night if I don't even remember?" Anastasia said trying to retrace every possible action she did in that one regretful night.

"Oh, a lot has happened last night Ms. Steele and I wouldn't forgive myself if I were to let you go without having a discussion about it." Christian motioned her towards the foyer. "Shall we?"

Anastasia was hesitant, a million things were running through her head at once and she really needed to get her emotions under control before going anywhere with him.

"Christ, Anastasia if you're able to call me while you're drunk, I'm pretty sure you're able to come with me for a 5 minute coffee." Christian was getting wary.

"Alright Mr. Grey, let's go." Anastasia picked up her confidence off of the floor and headed towards the foyer, but deep down she wasn't sure if this was the best decision.

They barely knew each other, but how could one person have such a major impact on the way they talked, moved and even looked at each other? Was it infatuation or was a petty crush? Was it too early to be even classified as a crush? It was hard when someone you didn't know a thing about seemed to be the only thing you thought about. Out of all the people in the entire world, why was this person so addicting and intriguing? Was it the way they used their words, was it the way they carried themselves? This was a problem, a major problem that was soon to either be for better or for worse.


	9. Chapter 8

Christian and Anastasia sat across from each other at a table that was right next to the window, the smell of coffee and fresh pastries watered their mouths; well for Anastasia at least. She took a sip of her warm tea, which seemed to make everything a bit more calming while Christian tore apart of his muffin and popped it in his mouth.

Christian narrowed his eyes and studied every inch of her facial structure, her skin was smooth and her eyes were bold. It was like looking at the entire ocean whenever he was captured by the colour of her eyes.

"Anastasia, I know that you were unstable last night but how did you find the courage to call me, of all people?" Christian finally spoke, catching Anastasia off guard.

"To be honest, I have no idea what came over me Mr. Grey. I do remember discussing to my friends about our interview shortly before, so I guess your name just lingered in my mind ever since. It was a stupid decision that I regret dearly. I am so sorry, I truly am." Anastasia tried to hold back her tears; the embarrassment was starting to get the best of her.

"No need to worry about it Anastasia, last night has come and gone. I just wanted to know more about what you said to me last night, you said that wanted me repeatedly and I'm confused about what you meant." Christian said, taking another small bite of his muffin.

"I can't believe I said that." Anastasia gasped. "I didn't mean what I said, well I did mean it but not in the way you might think that I meant it. Actually, I didn't think it would've come out like that."

"That's alright, I know everything might be confusing and blurry for now but I'm just trying to get a better insight about you. You can be completely honest with me, I won't be offended." Christian flashed a smile.

Anastasia bit her lip and tapped on the table for a moment, what was she supposed to tell him? Was she supposed to be completely honest with him and sacrifice looking like a desperate little girl who's hypnotized by his looks and the way he carries himself? Or was she supposed to lie and say everything was a mistake?

"Anastasia, stop biting your lip, you have no idea what that does to me." Christian said low, but harsh. It made Anastasia feel anxious but in some sort of way, it was captivating.

"Alright Mr. Grey, last night I was telling my friends about the interview, mainly I was filling in Kate about what actually happened since she's completely obsessed with your work. She was so excited that you actually did the interview and how outstanding your answers were, by the way." Anastasia smiled, softly.

"Thank you, go on." Christian said.

"Anyway, I told them about how amazing you are for creating such a big business at a young age. I was actually fascinated about all of your work, I can only dream of becoming as successful and devoted to your work in the future. However, it wasn't just the way you allowed people to view you on the outside, the way you carry yourself is actually mesmerizing. I can tell that you care deeply about your business, your reputation and even your daughter. You're an amazing man, Mr. Grey, I'm sure that you get told this every single day and you must get tired of it but I didn't think I would've had the opportunity to sit here in front of you to say it to your face." Anastasia smiled, there it was; she lied. She hardly knew anything about what he did and how he did it, all she knew was the basics. The only thing she adored about him was his charm; he was the best looking man she has ever seen. Plus, the way he took control and his caring heart was a bonus.

"Thank you Ms. Steele, that was very astonishing of you to say. However, I do not live for compliments, I live for accomplishments. You should too, if you have something to say to someone or a dream that you want to live, you should accomplish it." Christian said firmly, he knew that she was hiding something. "I can tell that there is more you would like to tell me, but I can assure to you that I won't harm you."

"Mr. Grey, there is so much more that I would like to tell you but you have to understand that it's difficult for me. I'm so sorry, but you're you, and I'm me. We come from two different worlds and you cannot possibly even consider me the way I consider you. So I would like to thank you for everything that you've done." Anastasia picked up her cup of tea and rose from her seat.

Christian got up and stood in front of her, blocking her way from exiting the café. "Ms. Steele, I wouldn't have done this if I didn't see something in you. I do hope that you will contact me if you need anything."

Anastasia nodded and for a moment, they both stared at each other. Anastasia was stimulated by the way his eyes hypnotized her, they were a warm grey colour and she could feel herself getting lost in them. Was she seriously about to walk away from him? As perfect as he seemed to her, she had to walk away because it was best for her well-being. She knew where she came from and what she deserved, she wouldn't be able to measure up to his level so it was best to end any contact with him, right now.

"Anastasia, stop biting your lip, you have no clue how much of an effect it has on me." Christian leaned down and whispered in her ear.

Anastasia felt chills run up and down her spine, before she knew it, Christian step out of her way and she saw something in him that broke her heart into pieces. His eyes grew sad and it looked like something was bothering him, was this hard for him too? All she had to do was stay and maybe she could express more to him, but the only thing that stood in the way was how unprofessional that would've been. Instead, she held out of hand and waited for him to shake it.

Christian looked down and shook her hand firmly. "Until I see you again, Ms. Steele."

"Until I see you again, Mr. Grey." Anastasia smiled, and walked out of the café.


	10. Chapter 9

_I would like to say that this chapter is re-written, I had to clear up a couple of minor mistakes and I would like to apologize if there was any confusion! I seriously need to pay more attention when I'm editing chapters, ugh. But I would like to thank nessi72 for bringing this to my attention, you're the best! Also, thank you for all the support so far, to everyone who reads my story and reviews, you're so amazing. If there is anything you would like to comment about whether if it's good things, or you want me to clear up a few things about the story, just review or send me a message!_

_With love, Abigail_

The holidays were finally over; the Grey family made their appearance in New York, allowing Christian to get what he needed to get done for the company and every single meeting was a success. He spent hours in meetings, and when he wasn't in a meeting, he was planning for what his next business move should be. And if he wasn't planning, he was thinking about Anastasia. It felt like everything has gone back to normal after the holiday rush, Esme and Christian got back to Seattle safely, leaving Phoebe and Theodore in New York to do whatever they pleased. Christian was aware that he was being distant from his children; whenever they went sight-seeing or out for dinner, he made up an excuse or simple said "no". He could tell that it was hurting his kids, because he promised that he would spend as much time as he could with them, but this was for their own well being; until his feelings were in control, he wanted to keep everyone at an arm's length distance.

Christian still vividly remembers that one night when he overheard Esme and Theodore speaking about him when he went to check up on Esme in her hotel room.

"_Do you think he's going through a mid-life crisis?" Esme said._

"_How could we know if he's going through one if we don't even know how old he is?" Theodore smirked; it was true, Christian never told his kids his age and he didn't plan on it._

"_Well, he promised that he would make this trip memorable but I barely get to see him. It's ridiculous, why did he drag all of us here on this stupid trip if all he planned on doing was working?" Esme sighed._

"_Maybe he wanted you, Pheebs, and I to spend quality time with each other; weren't you the one who kept complaining that you wanted your siblings around again? Well, here we are, and even if dad decides to not be around as much, you'll always have us. Look on the bright side; we get to do whatever we want without having him to tell us we can't." Theodore said. _

"_I guess you're right, we only have two days left here, I just hope that he finds time in his schedule to make time for us. If not, it'll be another broken promise." Esme said, Christian could hear the hurt in her voice._

"_Well, I don't want you to be sad so tomorrow I'm taking you where ever you want; I'll go out of my way to make you happy, alright princess?" Theodore said._

"_Promise?" Esme's voice grew serious, there was a moment of silence in the room which made Christian think that they knew he was behind the door._

"_Our promise." Theodore finally said._

Christian knew that his kids were either worried or upset with him but he ignored it. He was distracted and anxious by when the next meeting with Anastasia would be; all he wanted to do was talk to her and get to know her because there was something about her that reeled him into her.

At first, Christian was confused about why he couldn't stop thinking about Anastasia. But after a couple of days, it finally hit him; she was everything he looked for in a woman. Her blue eyes were heart warming; it was like gazing at a mystery that he was supposed to solve. Her brown hair flowed perfectly down her back; her face had a natural glow that made it so easy for him to adore her beauty. But there were a few problems; he lost all of the contact information that was given to him. He knew that he should've put it down in his phone as soon as she handed him the piece of paper with her phone number and e-mail but he didn't. Also, he knew nothing about her. He desperately thought of every possible solution, but it wasn't going to be easy tracking her down in this big city. He even thought about driving around for hours, praying that he would see her on the street.

Weeks went by and he felt like he was running out of time; what if she leaves the city? What if another guy is sweeping her off her feet? Will it be too late by the time he finds her? Christian ran his fingers through his hair and stood by his window in his home office, it was 7:30AM on a Tuesday and he didn't even feel like getting out of Escala some days until he knew that he had some sort of access to Anastasia.

There was a knock at door, but he didn't move an inch; he didn't care who it was unless it was the one who was on his mind for hours.

"Good morning, daddy!" He heard a cheerful voice come from behind him, he slowly turned around and saw Esme entering his office and approaching his desk. She was wearing black jeans, a white shirt with a purple cardigan that looked big enough to be her sisters.

"Good morning, Esmeralda. Ready for school?" Christian half smiled and sat down on his chair.

"Not really, I don't think we're even learning anything today. All of the seniors are too busy worrying about getting acceptation letters from Universities or Colleges. Yesterday, none of my teachers taught a lesson because everyone either skipped class to go to study hall or they stayed home, ugh this is the worst time of the year." Esme plopped down on the chair across from Christian, after a moment she noticed that he wasn't even paying attention to her; he was too busy on his phone.

"Hey dad, I'm stealing the car and I'm driving to California this weekend." Esme smirked.

"That's nice honey, hurry up and get ready for school. Gail will feed your breakfast, now I have to make an important call alright?" Christian looked up and waited for her to leave.

Esme arched an eyebrow and stayed seated for a second; was her father seriously dismissing her from his office? Without a word, she slowly got up and walked out of his office.

Christian quickly punched in a number into his phone and waited for the person to pick up; he really hoped that this plan would work because he was fatally out of ideas.

"Good morning, sir, what can I do for you?" Taylor said when he picked up the phone.

"Taylor, I need you to track someone for me if that's possible. I want all of their contact information as soon as possible, this is important." Christian said, sternly.

"Full name, sir." Taylor said, which made Christian smile, he knew that he could count on either Sawyer or Taylor to find out anything.

"Anastasia Steele." Christian said, mentally crossing his fingers.

"I will get you all of her information as soon as I can, do you have any specific details you would like to find out about her? It would make the process a lot easier." Taylor said.

"Could you just give me her phone number, where she works and all of her basic information? That would be absolutely great." Christian said, trying his best not to sound like a stalker. After Taylor agreed to get all of the info he could find on Anastasia, they both hung up the phone and Christian felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He smelled food from the kitchen and he decided to get something to eat before carrying on with his day.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Christian shook hands with a few businessmen whom he just finished discussing about his expansion of Grey Enterprises with, he had a feeling that this would be a wise choice and development will take place later on this year. After a few comments and further planning for a few more meetings, he escorted the men out of the meeting room and towards the elevator.

"It was nice seeing you, Grey!" A man called out as he entered the elevator with the others. Christian nodded and spun on his heel to make his way back to his office, it had been a long day and all he wanted to do was finish what he needed to do and make his way home.

"Mr. Grey!" He heard Andrea call out from behind him; he turned around and nodded at her. "While you were in your meeting, Taylor asked me to give you this package when you were finished. He said if you needed anything else, just contact him." Andrea smiled nervously, while she handed him the brown envelope.

Christian took the envelope and hurried into his office; he walked over to his desk and sat down on the chair. He was anxious that it was the information he asked Taylor to get for him earlier today, it would make his day slightly better. He ripped open the envelope and took out the loose papers. The first page was a photo of Anastasia Steele, followed by basic information about her.

Her full name was Anastasia Rose Steele, born in 1984 on September 10th and she was age 29. "_She's a Virgo" _he thought to himself. She works at Clayton's, the largest independent hardware store in the Portland area but she's a senior at Washington State University studying English Literature. Christian smirked, but he liked that was getting a degree in English, he always liked a woman who enjoyed reading and writing. Everything else that was on the other documents was her education files, criminal records and other outstanding information about her was irrelevant to him. All he wanted was a way to get in contact with him, her cell phone number was available but for some reason he thought that a little trip to Portland would be more suitable.

He glanced at the time, it was only 3:30; he figured that he had more than enough time to go home and grab his "go-bag" and make his way out of Seattle before his daughter comes home. He knew that an unexpected trip would cause too many questions from her and that would only waste time; so it was best to not tell her a thing.

"Andrea" Christian said as he entered the reception room, startling his young assistant.

"Yes, sir?" She answered as she looked up from the computer.

"I would like you to cancel all of my appointments and meetings for the next couple of days, I'm leaving Seattle tonight." He leaned against the desk and stared at Andrea, intimidating her.

She froze for a moment, and then quickly typed a few things on the computer, after a moment she looked up at him and began to speak. "How long do you plan on being gone? I want to make sure I don't delete or cancel too many things."

"I'll probably be gone for the entire week, if I extend my trip I will make a call." He said.

"I can cancel all of your business meetings and your appointments with Dr. Flynn; however you have a birthday party scheduled for your daughter, Esme." She said.

"I will be back by then." Christian said, although he wasn't even aware of what day the party was scheduled for.

She nodded, and wished him a safe trip. "Would you like me to tell your family where you'll be in case they need to contact you?"

"They won't need to know about my whereabouts, if they do contact you just tell them that I'm away on a last minute business trip. Have a nice week, Andrea." Christian said, before Andrea could respond he made his way into the elevator and he was gone.

Off to find Anastasia Steele.


	11. Chapter 10

There she was; she was sitting at a counter eating a sandwich, staring into space. She looked fascinating, her hair was in a ponytail, her uniform shirt fit her well and her blue eyes were divine as they studied whatever she was looking at. Christian spent almost 10 minutes in his car, as he debated if he should go in there and talk to her or just drive off. He felt like a stalker as he sat quietly in his tinted windowed car, staring at a woman that fascinated him more than anything else over the past couple of weeks, he didn't know if it was place to go in there was start a conversation with her, they only met twice! They didn't know a thing about each other, and although his intentions of having her were for his personal pleasure, he didn't want to give her the wrong impression. She would be the perfect submissive for him, she was petite, she seemed like she was an independent girl who kept to herself and her appearance meant everything to him. Although she was really slim, pale skin and her fashion sense was too simple, those were simple things that he could easily take care of. All he could think about was scaring her off, he was too dangerous for her and he hasn't even thought about making a female his submissive in over five years, was he sure that this is what he wanted?

Somehow, he felt himself gain an extra boost of confidence; he knew that he came all the way to Portland to find her, and he wasn't going to turn back for doubting himself. Finally he got out of his car and walked into the hardware shop, there was hardly anyone in here and it smelled like freshly trimmed wood. He slowly approached the counter, her head was down as she flipped through a book, he smiled at how mesmerized she looked; she if she was lost in the novel.

"Anastasia, what a pleasant surprise." Christian smiled softly, she jerked her head up and her mouth slightly dropped; he could tell that she was overly surprised to see him standing before her. Christian smirked, he knew that he had some type of affect on females, but seeing Anastasia like this made it seem funny.

"Mr. Grey" She breathed, her entire body was frozen and she could feel her heart beating faster by the second. She cleared her throat and tried to remain calm, but she felt the sudden urge to pass out. His handsomeness was breath taking, all he was wearing was a plain button up shirt and jeans, his hair was messy yet it perfectly fell in place and his grey eyes were melting against her eyes.

"May I help you with anything?" She finally spoke, trying to redeem herself from getting lost in him again.

"You may actually, I was looking for a few items and I heard that this was the perfect spot in Portland to find them." He smiled softly, leaning against the counter. Anastasia could smell his after shave, it was quite divine.

"Oh alright, do you mind telling me what you would like and I'll see what I can do." Anastasia smiled, for the first time she felt like she was the one who was boss. Christian arched an eyebrow, then chuckled and told her the items that he needed; he didn't actually need them but it was a good way to stall. Anastasia lead the way and he followed as they walked down a few aisles, most of them were empty but Christian didn't mind; he wanted privacy with her anyway.

"Do you mind if I ask why you're in Portland?" Anastasia said as she picked up some of the things and handed it to him.

"I'm here on business, it was a last minute call and I've been trying to fix the loose strings on this project for months." Christian said, partially it was true; he was supposed to make a trip to Portland one of these days anyway.

"Oh I see, well I hope that Portland is treating you well." Anastasia smiled, softly.

"At the moment, it is treating me quite fine, thank you." Christian smiled back "Do you live in Portland?"

"No, well not for long anyway, I plan on moving to Seattle very shortly with my friend Kate. As soon as we graduate, we'll be out of here and into the city." She said, Christian could tell that she sounded like a dreamer.

"Permanently moving to city, eh? Do you already have a job in Seattle?" Christian asked.

"I don't, but I applied for a few internships but so far they haven't gotten back to me. Hopefully by the time I'm ready to leave, I'll have at least a couple of places that accept me." Anastasia said, finally they were at the end of an aisle so she turned to him and smiled. "That's all the items you asked for, is there anything else?"

"That would be all, thank you." Christian juggled the items in his hand.

"I'll check those out for you, I hope that they do you some justice for whatever you need them for." Anastasia smirked, and then made her way back to the cashier. Christian looked down in his arms and shook his head; what the hell was he going to do with these? He followed her, and then placed all of the items on the counter. One by one, she cashed them out and placed them carefully in a bag, everything she did was so delicate.

"Anastasia, what are you plans for the rest of the evening?" Christian spoke softly, mesmerized by her every move.

"I'm supposed to close up in about forty five minutes. After that, I have to go home and finish my report that I've been working on all weekend, it's due tomorrow and I'm nowhere near finished." Anastasia flushed, she didn't want to turn him down but she couldn't sacrifice school.

"What about for the rest of the week?" Christian asked, he wasn't going to give up that easily.

"My week is looking pretty typical, just work and stuff for school. Why do you ask, Mr. Grey?" She arched an eyebrow, placing the last item in the plastic bag.

"Have dinner with me, or at least let me take you out for coffee again." Christian said he wasn't well with casual dates; especially with woman he barely knew. But, if this is what it takes, then he'll go the extra mile.

Anastasia hesitated for a while, was this actually happening to her? The one and only Christian Grey is offering to take her out for dinner at her workplace on a casual weekday. She pinched herself and waited for her to wake up; but she didn't, it was all real.

"I would love to, Mr. Grey" She finally spoke, and she smiled brightly.

"Good girl, here's my contact information and I would like you to call or e-mail me by tomorrow afternoon so we can arrange everything." He placed a small piece of paper on the counter and took the bags. "And please, call me Christian."

"As long as you call me Ana." She whispered, and for a moment they stared at each other just like the way they did the day that she interviewed him. Grey eyes staring back at blue eyes, with nothing to say, only their body language was doing all of the talking. Christian wanted her badly, and Anastasia wanted this moment to never end.

"Until we meet again, Ana." Christian turned around and left the store without letting Ana say another word. She let out a deep breath and sunk into the stool, her adrenaline was pumping and she felt every emotion run through her body. She stared at the piece of paper, it had his e-mail and phone number written on it along with his signature, did he have more of these lying around? She didn't really care; all she could think about was what this 'date' was going to be like.

For the first time in a while, Ana felt like good things were bound to happen.


	12. Chapter 11

Tonight was the night; fancy clothes were thrown onto the bed, relaxing music was playing in the background to calm any anxious nerves, and products were all lined up on the dresser waiting to be used. Christian wasn't the type to get nervous about dates, but he was a bit apprehensive about this one. He tried to keep it cool and just remember that she's just a girl that was possibly like any other female that he's been around; although her beautiful face and witty personality kind of triggered a different sense about her. The way that she carried herself just got to him every time, Christian knew exactly what he liked and apparently Anastasia had the entire package, so far.

Christian slipped on a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt; he quickly did his tie and then walked over to the mirror to look at his hair. The only thing he noticed was a man looking back at him, questioning himself if he was about to go through with this. It's been several years since he's turned down his BDSM lifestyle because of his family, he couldn't jeopardize the chance of him getting caught by any of his children. Although the "Play room" has been locked up and forbidden from anyone entering, he feared that one day while any of his subs were in there, his kids would somehow find out. He thought long and hard about this, but he needed to make it work. His palm twitched whenever Anastasia bit her lip or rolled her eyes, it causes pain and pleasure and he couldn't take it anymore.

He ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times, applied a bit of gel and sprayed some colon on. He took another look at himself in the mirror, he was no longer "Christian Grey—the father" "Christian Grey—The CEO" "Christian Grey—the boy with a traumatic past", he straightened his posture and narrowed his eyes, he had let himself sink in and accept the fact that he had become "Christian Grey—The Dominant."

He felt his nerves and body settle into his role again, it felt like trying on your old, favourite pair of running shoes; it fit him so well, and it felt damn good. He gathered his wallet, car keys and cell phone, then made his way out of the hotel room. He made it down to the parking lot within a matter of minutes and jumped into his car. Christian punched in Anastasia's address into his GPS and drove into the night; he loved speeding, it gave him that effect that nothing could catch up to him—not even his past.

Once he got to Anastasia's place, he sat in his vehicle for a moment before picking up his confidence off of the floor, walked up to her doorstep and knocked on her front door; it was time to enroll in his dominant personality.

The door swung open and there she was; the first thing Christian noticed was her black dress that fell perfectly down her body, and ended at her knees; it hugged her curves in all of the right places. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and her makeup was simple, she looked absolutely stunning and Christian could feel his jaw fall to the floor.

"Hi Christian" She breathed; he figured that she was either speechless or too nervous to concentrate.

"Anastasia" He softly smiled "Shall we go?" He motioned her towards his car; she quickly nodded and grabbed her purse. Once they were in the car, Christian glanced over to her and grinned. "Promise me that you'll trust me, just for tonight."

"I promise" Anastasia smiled, soon enough he sped off onto the street and made his way to the restaurant, he knew all of the good places to eat in Portland.

"So how long have you been in Portland?" Christian asked.

"Well, Kate and I settled here a couple of years ago so we could continue with school. But to be honest, we've been all over the place ever since we graduated from high school. We wanted to take a couple years off so that we could travel but that turned into longer than we expected." Anastasia said.

"Really now, you took the risk of pausing your education to travel?" Christian arched an eyebrow.

"At first, it was supposed to be to a couple of places like New York and California but then it turned into going overseas and doing charity work in other countries. We've been to places where people don't have the privileges that Kate and I have; it broke our hearts when we witnessed what we saw. So, we became a part of some organizations and helped build schools for children" Anastasia said, Christian felt his heart warm when she took a moment to smile at herself.

"That's very sweet of you, Anastasia. Being so care giving at a young age is very rare in this generation and it's nice to see that there are a few people in this world who still care." Christian said he was happy that Anastasia wasn't a girl who took things for granted; he admired girls who took the time to give back to the less fortunate.

"What about you, Christian? Have you done anything that you're proud of while you were in your early adulthood?" Anastasia looked at him and smiled, she felt relaxed as she watched him driving, as if she knew that she was safe.

"I'm happy that I got to buy my parents the things that they desired and send them on vacations, they spent most of their days working hard and trying their best to raise my family. It felt like I was doing something right for once, I watched them work endless hours and at the end of each day they would find a way to make time for us. Not every parent does that for their child." Christian gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter, remembering his early childhood before being in the hands of Grace and Carrick. "I'm also proud that I could make a name for myself; there was no way in hell that I could live with myself if I wasted my days doing absolutely nothing."

"So you're passionate about working?" Anastasia asked.

"Very passionate about working, I'm working right now as we speak." Christian looked at her and winked. He pulled into an underground parking lot, where he parked the car and turned off the engine. "Shall we go eat?"

Anastasia nodded, and they both got out of the car. Christian took her hand and walked into the elevator where they were accompanied by two other men. Christian gripped onto Anastasia's hand a bit tighter, but didn't dare to look down at her; he knew that she was staring but that made him feel even more prevailing. He played with her fingers a bit, hearing her giggle; there was something about her that made her seem playful. Once they got out of the elevator, they approached an usher who escorted them both to a private booth.

Christian let go of Anastasia's hand and watched as she slowly walked around the private lounge, admiring the lit candles everywhere, the beautiful music that the band was playing, there was a table that was only seated for two, and the view of Portland was beautiful, as they got to sit next to a large window.

"Do you always do this?" She asked.

"Do what?" Christian arched an eyebrow, and then he walked over to the window, where she was standing.

"Do you always impress your dates by renting a beautiful, romantic lounge? Because no guy has ever done this for me, in fact they've never come close to this." She whispered.

"I don't normally do this, but when I do it's for the ones that I actually like. Come." Christian said, and then he took her hand and led her to the table. As they took their seats, Anastasia picked up the menu and took a good look at all of the food. However, Christian just took a good look at her, he knew exactly what he wanted but it was just a matter of paper work.

Anastasia looked down and smiled to herself, she was still grasping onto the fact that she was sitting across from the one and only Christian Grey in a beautiful restaurant, things couldn't get any better than this. What did she do right to deserve this treatment?

"Tell me what you're thinking." Christian said.

"Nothing really, I'm just thinking about how lucky your past girlfriends must've been to have the opportunity to date you. You really know how to spoil a girl, Christian." She smiled, and then put down her menu.

"I don't do the girlfriend thing, Anastasia." Christian smirked.

"Are you kidding me? You've never had a girlfriend, ever?" Anastasia's heart dropped, there goes her chances.

"I have many years ago, but it doesn't happen often. I'm not good with showing love and affection, it's not my thing." Christian said.

"Then what is your thing? Because right now I'm thoroughly confused, how could you not experience the world of dating? Unless you're gay." Anastasia mentally kicked herself a million times for saying that.

"I'm not gay, please be a little bit more open minded. I am strongly interested in girls but under my own special terms. Oh Ana, the things I do will have you running for the hills. Let's eat first before we talk about that, alright?" Christian said, and then called the waiter over. They ordered, and then sat staring at each other. Anastasia didn't know how to react, what did he mean by not having a girlfriend was his thing? Has he never been in love before? Did he have bad experiences with dating? Is he a player? A cheater? It's impossible, he has to have some sort of romantic history or else he wouldn't have come up with this beautiful date. Anastasia was captivated by his charm, but was confused by his words. What kind of man is Christian Grey?

"Stop biting that lip, Anastasia. You have no clue what it does to me, it drives me insane." Christian groaned.

"I'm sorry; it's a bad habit of mine, why do I have the feeling that this date isn't just a casual one, but one that may lead to something that I'm not quite aware of?" Anastasia asked, starting to feel a bit on the edge.

"I was hoping that we would at least get dessert before I brought this up, but I guess I can't keep it a secret for much longer." Christian sighed.

"What do you mean? Christian, no more playing games, what am I really here for?" Anastasia asked, suddenly feeling something come over her.

"I want to have a relationship with you, Anastasia Steele. But not one that involves love, I want one that involves sexual acts. I know that it sounds a bit overwhelming and irrational right now, but soon you will understand why this relationship must work. You'll also understand that you'll want this as much as I want it, too." Christian said, waiting for her to get up and run away but she didn't.

"Excuse me? You want me to be some type of sex slave?" Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

"Not a sex slave, a submissive while I'm your dominant. You'll sign yourself over to me and you'll be all mine. You see, I'm attracted to you, ever since you walked into my office I wanted you to be mine. You would be the perfect submissive for me; I also have this unraveling passion for getting to know who you are. There's just something about you, and I can't let you get away, at least not yet." Christian said. Anastasia sat there for a second and just stared at him. She didn't know if she felt confused, flattered, or intrigued.

"Are you saying you're interested in me, Christian? Or is this all for your personal pleasure? Come on, you've met me in person no more than three times! How could you possibly be so attracted to me, I'm nothing special. Compared to you, you're probably looking for someone who fits your standards." Anastasia shivered.

"There's so much that I'm interested in about you, Ana, you have no idea. I don't know what is it about you, but I would prefer to have you as my submissive rather than any other woman. And you'll be able to do a lot of things for me, as I'll be able to do a lot of things for you. I can show you things that you've never dreamed of seeing, ever. There's a lot of paper work, but we can get through that once you've thought it through. I just want you to know that my standards are a vivid description of you. Trust me." Christian said.

Before Ana could say another word, their food came and the smell of it distracted her. She took a bite, but her stomach was too excited and also frightened from what Christian was imposing on her.

"Why do you do this? And why did you pick me of all women? Do you realize that you could have any other girl within the snap of your fingers?" Anastasia said.

"Why do people do things the way they do? It's just how they operate, and whatever makes them happy. And I'm choosing you over any other girl because I have a feeling that you'll make me happy. I'm intrigued by you, I don't know why, but I am. And it's attractive to me. The way you bite your lip, it drives me insane. The way you speak makes me want to know so much more about you. You've got it all, Ana, and I want to show that to you." Christian said, he never had to express this much to a woman, but if this is what is takes then he'll do it.

"Have you done this to other women?" Ana asked, scared for what the answer would be but she needed to know.

"Yes I have, 15 other women, in fact." Christian cleared his throat.

"Fifteen?! Do your kids know about this? And have you fallen in love with any of them?" Ana was officially freaking out; there was no way she could live up to their standards.

"My children aren't aware of this and they never will be, it's none of their business. And no, I have never fallen in love and I don't plan on it." Christian said.

Anastasia sat quietly for a minute, this was all so hard to absorb! His kids didn't know that he was engaging in this lifestyle and worst yet, he's never fallen in love before.

"I'm hooked on you and I'll do anything to have you, you're aware of what I want. I won't stop you if you run away right now, but if you say yes then I won't give up on you Anastasia. There will be no way in hell that I'll let you go." Christian said, his puppy dog eyes were piercing into her skin. He was good at this, Ana tried to find a reason to say "no" but she couldn't.

She was attrached to him too, on levels that she has never been attracted to a man before. It was like a blood rush straight through her veins whenever she thought about him; it was like she was hypnotized, she needed him and for the first time she felt like she wanted a man to desire her sexual needs.

"Where do I sign?" Ana let out a soft smile, she was excited but she wasn't sure if she should show it.

Christian let out a deep breath and smiled; he was excited and wanted to have her right here on, on the table. But there were too many people around, and he wanted her to be comfortable; for now. He pulled out the forms and handed them to Ana, she read over the rules and Christian answered all of her questions. Within a matter of minutes, her name was signed in blue pen and now Anastasia Steele was officially the submissive to Christian T. Grey, which brought the biggest smile to his face.

"I don't know how I'm going to pleasure you; I've never done anything like this." Ana blushed.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you've experimented and done a good job on any sexual activities with your boyfriends in the past." Christian smirked, as he looked over the paperwork.

"No Christian, I've only had sex once in my entire life time." She nervously bit her lip.

"Are you kidding me? Damn it Ana, why didn't you bring this up earlier? Who knows how inexperienced you are; now I'll have to teach you how to do things right and it'll probably take months! Why the hell have you only had sex once when you're twenty-nine years old! You're beautiful and intelligent, what the hell is holding you back?" He raised his voice, and dropped the paper work onto the table.

"I was hoping that you would realize how lucky you are that I'm careful about whom I choose to have sex with rather than doing it recklessly!" Ana rolled her eyes. "And what do you mean by teaching me? How hard can it be?"

"For the love of God, Ana, I can't talk about this with you right now. You have no idea how inexperienced and naïve you sound right now, it's painful. We're going back to Escala, tonight." Christian took one more bite of his food and then called over the waiter.

"What's Escala?" Ana raised her eyebrow.

"My place in Seattle." Christian said as he paid the bill.

"We're going back to Seattle tonight? I have work for the next couple of days! Plus, I'll need to pack some clothes and it'll take forever to drive there!" Ana protested, but in reality she was scared to get started with all of this so quickly.

"I'm sure that they'll survive without you for a couple of days, just call in sick. And who said that we're going to be driving?" Christian winked. "Oh Ana, there's so much that I'm willing to show you, you'll be surprised." Christian got up from his seat and offered his hand. "Come."


	13. Chapter 12

Last night was beautiful, there weren't any words to describe how magnificent it was because it would be so much more sentimental if it were to be relived. Anastasia has never felt so young and carefree in years, she felt like she was addicted to some type of rush, and there was no way she would come off any time soon. She knew that her mother wouldn't understand how she felt, and why she agreed to this contract of being under the control of a man she hardly knew, but what if this was Anastasia's only way of learning more about him? Christian Grey was always a private man, even if he was in the public eye everyday of his life; he knew how to keep everyone at an arm's length. His business was his main priority, he worked harder than any other man in Seattle, he tried to be better than everyone in the business field; and somehow, someway he always succeeded. But in reality, no one really knew who he was and what he really was all about; but now Anastasia understood why. His personal deeds were something on a level that no one would dare go to.

Now she was lying next to him the morning after in the playroom where a lot of wonders happened for the both of them last night. She slowly slipped out of his arms, threw off the blanket and tippy toed around the room to look for the bag of clothes and necessities she came with; she felt like a girl who just had a one night stand with a man she'll never see ever again. Anastasia didn't believe in one night stands, she believed that if you made the choice to have sex with someone then you should at least be a decent enough person to see them again. She was only in her underwear and bra from the night before, now all she needed was a fresh shower and clean, comfortable clothes, once she took another step she heard him toss in his sleep and let out a loud sigh. Seconds later, Christian sat up and they both made eye contact for a long moment; grey to blue, with nothing to say.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She frowned.

"Yes, you did actually, if you were to rob a bank you would be terrible at it." Christian said as he stretched, and got out of bed. "If you're looking for your belongings then please help yourself to your bag in the bathroom; I put it in there after you fell asleep."

"Oh alright, thank you." Anastasia smiled shyly, and then walked towards the bathroom door. When she was about to turn the knob, she felt Christian grab her hand, and pull her into him. He touched her face softly and chuckled to himself, then he crushed his lips onto hers catching her by surprise. They must've been there for minutes because Anastasia felt like she was being taking on a ride of lust. Slowly Christian pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I don't want you to ever be shy around me; I'm not here to intimidate you Anastasia." Christian whispered, before they could do anything, his phone began to ring, causing Christian to groan and curse under his breath. He let go of Ana and went over to his phone, snapping at whoever was on the other line. Instantly, his expression went to irritation to disbelief. Once he ended the call, he motioned Ana to hurry up and get ready.

"You need to get your things together right now, my parents are on their way over here right now and I don't need them asking me why there's a half naked woman in my home. Once you're ready, meet me in the kitchen and I'll have Taylor take you home." Christian cursed under his breath and made his way out the door.

Anastasia stood there for a moment, completely paralyzed and didn't know if her next move was to jump out the window and run away as fast as she could or follow his instructions. She knew that if she got ready fast enough, she would be out of here in no time. But what if her parents walk into the foyer the moment she's about to step into the elevator? What will Christian do to back her up? Will he even have her back? For all she knew, he could shrug it off and basically make it look like Anastasia was just the girl for the night. She knew that over thinking every situation wouldn't get her anywhere, so grabbed all of her belongings and made her way into the bathroom.

Xxxxxx

"How in the hell do you forget about your daughter's birthday, Christian?!" Grace yelled as she made her way into the kitchen where Christian was standing, Carrick was right behind her and they both looked like they were on the verge of taking away Christian's live.

"I can explain, mother, please lower your voice." Christian said.

"Don't you tell me what to do, after that stunt you pulled? It's one thing to forget about her at school, or forget about her checkups at the doctor, or forget about her soccer tournaments. But once you forget about her birthday, you've crossed the line! You didn't even tell anyone where you flew off to!" Grace raised her finger and narrowed her eyes. "You better tell me that you were somewhere curing a disease or else whatever bull shit excuse you give me will be irrelevant!"

"Where is she?" Christian said softly.

"She's with Phoebe right now, she stayed the night over at our house and let me tell you, that little girl cried her eyes out all night I wouldn't be surprised if her eyes were completely dried up this morning. Christian Grey, out of the shit that you've pulled in her lifetime, this one is a huge one. Do you have any idea how it hurt your mother and I that we had to sit with her all night as she wept, asking why you've been so distant lately?" Carrick said.

"I know that I fucked up, horribly, but I've had a lot on my plate over the past couple of weeks. It slipped my mind, and I could've prevented all of this from happening. You both know that I love my kids more than anything, but I let work get to me. I promise that it would never happen again, just tell me where Esmeralda and Phoebe are and I'll apologize to them, I'll do whatever it takes." Christian practically begged.

"Not until you tell me where the hell you flew off to so suddenly, I checked your records Christian, you took Charlie Tango out earlier this week and flew in late last night. You didn't even realize that your kid wasn't here?" Carrick growled. "You have a lot of explaining to do before I let you near them."

"They're my children, and whatever I did with my time is my business! If I wanted to let you know where I was and what I was doing, I would've come to you. But I didn't because this is something that I had to take care of on my own, but now that it's handled I can devote my time to my family again." Christian said.

"Do you hear yourself? You sound like an addict and if you're letting yourself over work again, I swear I will do whatever it takes to take away whatever business deal that's occupying all of your times." Grace said.

"You have no place in my business to take it away from me, I built it from the ground up and I'm more than certain that you have absolutely no power to rip it out of my hands." Christian practically yelled.

"Your mother doesn't, but I do. You signed that company in your name but you also put my name on it if anything were to happen, along with your brother Elliot and your son, Theodore. If you think that you have the right to make this business something that's constantly crawling under your skin, you'll eventually lose all access to it." Carrick said. "Now tell me Christian Grey, what the hell was more important than your daughter's birthday celebration?" Carrick demanded.

Suddenly, there was a thud coming from the staircase which made everyone snap their heads and look into that direction. At the top of the staircase, Anastasia quickly picked up the bag she accidently dropped on the floor and held her breath once she found out that all eyes were on her.

"I knew it; I knew that you were sneaking around with a woman. I knew that this wasn't business related, or else your business partners and your assistants would've told us. It was no freaken use coming here to get it out of you, all this time you were trying to stall time for her!" Grace pointed at the top of the stairs.

"Mother if you would let me talk for a moment we could sit down and discuss this without yelling and jumping to conclusions. It's not what you think it might be, it was not in my intention to make it seem like I was putting another woman in front of my family. Her name is Anastasia Steele; I met her a few weeks ago after she interviewed me for her roommate. She seemed like she's intrigued but the whole English literature era so I thought it was in my deed that I should help her! She's a brilliant and beautiful girl, I see something in her and I would've regretted it every day if I didn't go to Seattle to find out more about her." Christian pleaded.

"Yet again, you put work and other people in front of your family. This is what their mother warned me about, may God rest her soul in peace. If she were here, she wouldn't stand here and take this crap because no matter what circumstance it might have been, Theodore, Phoebe and Esmeralda were always **her** number 1 priority. Until you learn the true meaning of putting your kids first, I don't want you around them, they deserve to feel like they're the apple of your eye instead of fighting for a spot in your damn life." Grace looked at him in disgust. "You can do whatever the hell you want with your life, but I will not let my grandchildren suffer because their father doesn't know how to share love. Unless it's a complete stranger who's giving him the chance for brightening his company." Grace looked towards Anastasia and then walked towards the elevator.

"You've heard your mother, I will be back later on for Esme's belongings and until you get your shit together I will do everything in my power to provide, love and support my grandchildren." Carrick said. "I don't know where I went wrong with you Christian; I really thought I raised a man who would've been a better father."

"You're not taking my kids away from me, they're mine damn it. I screw up once and you already pack suitcases?!" Christian tried to hold back his tears.

"No you haven't screwed up once; you've neglected them and shown no growth ever since you've been granted full custody over them. Gabriella was right when she made sure that I should have custody over them, too bad I thought you would've changed." Carrick turned around and started to walk away, before he joined in his wife at the elevator he turned around and stared at his son.

"Have you talked to Esme about her nightmares lately?" Carrick asked, arching an eyebrow. When Christian didn't reply, he shook his head and let out a sign. "That's what I thought."

Christian was paralyzed; he didn't know what to say because there was a huge lump in his throat. He didn't know if his legs were about to sink in the surface of the earth or if they were completely numb because he couldn't find the courage to move. He was on the verge of losing his children and all he could do was stand in one spot and not say anything to try to save them. He forgot about his Esme's birthday, not even a phone call or a birthday present, how could he bare with himself for being so absent minded about the one person who always loved him despite his mistakes.

"Christian, I am so sorry that this happened to you. I don't know what's going on with you and your family, but I think you should run after your parents." Anastasia said as she got to the bottom of the stairs, she was wearing a fresh blouse and a pair of jeans, her beauty struck Christian like a crisp air of wind.

"Anastasia, I don't think there's anything I can do right now that will make my family forgive me for what I've done." Christian said. "I left here for a week without saying anything because I was so selfish and caught up in trying to find you. I forgot about my family because I just couldn't say no to this desire that I had."

"Well, I can't imagine how devastated you must feel right now but I did hear everything your parents said; although your mother turned to me and basically called me a whore, I understand why she was so upset. Like your dad said, Esme unfortunately spent all night crying her eyes out because the most important person to her forgot about her. I cannot stress to you enough how much of a major stunt you pulled by coming all the way to find me, over being there for your family, there's no way that something like this could slide. But I will tell you that it will be possible for your family to forgive you again, just be there and be persistent about making an effort; they love you Christian, why wouldn't they love you? They might be upset now, but there is a possibility of turning their frowns upside down." Anastasia stepped closer to him and smiled, she could see that he slowly understood where she was coming from.

"I should've been a better father and a better son, my family deserves that more than anything; especially all that they've done for me over the course of my life. I shouldn't be standing here right now, I need to see my children and apologize." Christian walked to the kitchen table and grabbed his keys, he went over to Anastasia, kissing her briefly and embracing her in a warm hug. "I do not regret some of the decisions I've made over the week though, thank you for everything Anastasia."

"Go get your children and give the same hug you just gave me." She cracked a smile, and winked.

"If you need to run any errands or so, that's fine, but I expect you to be here when I get back." Christian gave her the order, and made his way out of the room.

**Uh oh, so intense for one chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, your feedback is always appreciated, the next couple of chapters will be a bit dramafied, but I hope you guys can handle that. I'm also trying to keep it PG for Christian and Ana, tell me what you think about that!**

**xoxo**


	14. Chapter 13

The music was blasting through the stereo as loud as it could go, but it was comforting because that meant the entire world was blocked out. Every horrible thing that happened felt like it was finally gone away, her feelings were at ease and her mind was blank. Esme was lying on her bed in her grandparent's house, staring up at the ceiling and felt like she could lay here forever; just her and the music. When she slept over at her grandparent's house, she always shared a room with Phoebe, at first it was fun because she got to stay up late and bond with her sister, but after a while they both yearned for their privacy and space. So, her grandfather took Esme to the furniture store one day and she was allowed to pick out anything she wanted, and then they spent the entire afternoon painting the room her favourite colour at the time – violet. Esme adored her grandfather because he always dropped everything to be at her side, whenever she fell during the soccer games she could remember him yelling at the coach demanding to make sure if she was okay. At the time, she thought it was embarrassing but over time she knew that it was all out of love.

Esme knew that her grandfather would be there for no matter what, but last night really showed how much she could count on him. Although she tried to put up a front and acted like she was perfectly fine, Carrick saw right through her. He pulled her aside when everyone was mingling and took her outside to the backyard, it was a beautiful night; the moon was out, the snow was crisp on the floor and even though it was the middle of winter, the cold air didn't both them that much.

"_Alright Esmeralda, it's just you and me, tell me what you're feeling." Carrick said as they walked along the pathway._

"_Well first off, let me tell you that being a year older is an overwhelming feeling. I never knew that I would feel this young at the age of 18, I remember telling Teddy when he turned 18 that he was basically on the verge of a midlife crisis." Esme giggled. "I feel great tonight, grandpa, and thank you so much for the party."_

"_That's very nice of you, sweetheart, but you don't have to hide it from me. I know that you notice your dad isn't here and it's killing you. I can tell because every 5 minutes, you glance over to the door hoping that he would walk in. And when you said that you were going to the bathroom, you actually went to the garage to check if his car was there." Carrick said._

"_So you've been spying on me? That's incredible." Esme said sarcastically._

"_No, Teddy told me all of this information and I wanted to make sure that you were aware that you don't have to hide anything from your family." Carrick said._

"_I'm not hiding anything, grandpa, just because dad decides not to show up isn't my concern. He's a big boy, and I'm pretty sure he just got caught up with something at work. If he doesn't show up, he'll make it up to me somehow." Esme shrugged it off._

"_How do you know he'll make it up to you, Esmeralda? Has he called you to wish you a happy birthday, you've been eighteen all day! In fact, has he called you ever since he's left?" Carrick raised an eyebrow._

"_No but Taylor told me that everything is fine and he's off taking care of something for business reasons. You know what I don't care about his work, so why would I interfere and worry about it now? It's not like he forgot about me, he remembers grandpa, and he's just busy!" Esme said._

"_Are you telling me that he's too busy to pick up a phone and say happy birthday to his daughter? Whatever business concern it may be, you're never too busy to call a loved one, ever. Your grandmother is a doctor for crying out loud, but she still made sure to call you every night to tell you good night. And for your mother, when she had to go out of town she made sure that she made time within the day to talk to you." Carrick said._

"_You just want me to say that I hate him and feel anger towards him, I can't be mad at him grandpa, he's my dad. He's all that I have." Esme whispered._

"_What do you mean he's all that you have? It's okay to show how you truly feel, you don't have to hide it, I know that you'll always love your father, and he will always love you but I want you to open your eyes." Carrick said, he went on and on about this which made Esme bottle up with anger and eventually, she couldn't control anything she was about to let out._

"_What do you want me to say, grandpa? Do you want me to be freaken honest with you? Fine! When I woke up this morning I expected him to be there in the kitchen like he was is, pulling me into a big hug and wishing me a happy birthday. I wanted him there to tell me that I'll still be his little girl even though I'm eighteen, I wanted to hear his cheesy father speech, and I wanted to tear up! I wanted to open up the gifts he bought for me, but there was nothing because he's not even here. This party wasn't even complete because he wasn't here, how come my only parent isn't here for me grandpa? Could you answer that for me since you're full of every solution? How come he was never 100% there for me, he gave up before he even tried! I tried to be good, I tried to bring home straight A's and I was 10 times of a better kid than I was for my mom. Why am I fighting for the attention from someone who won't even give his time to me? Where did I go wrong, I know that Theodore and Phoebe are older and they've grown out of this phase, but I'm the youngest! I lost a mom before I hit puberty, I never had a mom to talk to about whatever the hell I'm feeling right now, and when I want my dad more than ever he's not even here! So there you have it grandpa, I'm upset and I'll always have this anger inside because I was never given the love from my dad. And I swear to you, the love from both parents is the most important love you could ever have." Esme yelled, tears were rolling down her face and she was trembling. _

"_Esmeralda darling, it'll be alright, that's all I wanted to hear from you. I don't want you to hate your dad, he loves you so much but I couldn't let you go on with all of this hiding away inside this petite girl." Carrick pointed at her, she wanted to laugh at that but she couldn't. Carrick frowned and hugged her tightly, he felt his dress shirt being soaked with warm tears. They stood there for a few minutes, when Esme finally calmed down; she pulled away and looked up at Carrick._

"_I love you, darling, you'll always be the most important little girl to me and I promise you that I will make this better for you. I'll find your dad, I'll bring him back and it'll all be solved." Carrick wiped her tears. _

"_Grandpa, I don't think I have enough strength to go in there and pretend that I'm happy, could you please tell everyone that the party is over? I just want to go to bed and sleep." Esme frowned._

"_Of course, I'll tell them, go upstairs and I'll send Phoebe up there in a few minutes once everyone is gone." Carrick said, and then they both headed inside. _

Esme tried to hold back her tears when she remembered that particular moment from last night, all she could feel was anger and sorrow; she missed her mother and as much as she hated her dad, she missed him too. But for now, she didn't want anything to do with him, she wanted to move in with her grandparents until she graduated and then eventually she would be about to inherit all of her money and buy her own little house.

"Are you kidding me? If you're still asleep I will throw cold water all over you!" Phoebe said as she entered the room.

Esme sat up, she watched Phoebe cross the room and sit on the chair across from her. "I'm taking you out, I have to leave for New York early in the morning and I want to spend some time with you outdoors."

Esme shrugged, it sounded like a good idea but she didn't feel like going outside until she felt 100% better.

"Look, I know that you're upset because I feel the exact same way. We have a selfish father and unfortunately we'll have to accept that fact. However, it's killing me to see you this way Esme and I want you to feel better before I leave. Even if you pretend to feel better, I want to see you running around here with your bright smile annoying the hell out of me. Last night, when I saw you curled up on the sofa crying your eyes out, I looked over and Theodore and I swear he was tearing up." Phoebe said.

"Oh my gosh, you're lying!" Esme's jaw dropped.

"I'm telling the absolute truth, our brother is capable of crying Esme." Phoebe put her hands over her heart and smiled.

"Alright Phoebe, I'll go outside with you for the day, but where do you have planned?" Esme asked as she got off her bed and headed towards her closet.

"Well I think that we could go to the café and just catch up, and then we could go shopping because that's always the best remedy for a girl." Phoebe smiled brightly.

"Who's paying?" Esme arched an eyebrow, when Phoebe held up her credit card, they both started laughing and Esme nodded in approval. "Give me 10 minutes to get ready and I'll meet you downstairs."

Phoebe nodded and made her way out of Esme's bedroom, a few seconds later she popped her head back into the room. "Hey loser, I love you by the way."

Esme smiled at her sister "I love you, too."

Xxxxxxx

"So he's back, and he wants to come here to talk to us? That's not happening." Phoebe smirked, she was in the dining room with Theodore, Carrick and Grace; Carrick told them that Christian was in back and planned on coming by later on to apologize.

"I'm not entirely happy with the idea, have you seen our little sister last night? She was devastated and I refuse to sit here while he comes up with some bullshit excuse, she'll just be brought under his wing for a few weeks and then he'll pull another stunt again." Theodore said.

"I know you two have made up your mind and you're doing this protect your sister but I think that Christian's eyes are starting to open up. I've never been able to leave him speechless until today, it could be a sign." Carrick said.

"Yeah right, I remember when I was around 17 and I left him speechless when I snuck in after 4AM for the first time. Soon after he gave me the longest lecture I've ever gotten but, whenever dad is lost for words, he's either thinking of a comeback or he's letting you believe that you've won." Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"Wait a minute missy, you snuck in the house at 4AM?" Grace raised an eyebrow.

"It wasn't her first time, grandma – anyway I think that we should give it some time and I'll talk go over to speak to dad this evening." Theodore said, before anyone could reply, they heard Esme coming down the stairs and quickly exchanged looks at each other.

"Phoebe honey, I hope that you and Esme have fun on your little day out." Grace smiled, knowing that Esme would be able to hear them talking by now.

"Oh we will it's always a good time whenever she's out with me. Grandpa, I think that we might need a few—" Phoebe was cut off when Carrick dug into his pocket and placed some money into her hands, causing her to smile brightly.

"That's so unfair, how come I always have to give you a reason whenever I ask for money?" Esme pouted, they all turned around and saw that she was wearing a red trench coat, black jeans and black leather boots. Her face looked a lot brighter and her eyes were no longer swollen from all that crying.

"Wow Esme, it's only been a day and you already look older." Theodore smirked. "I'm going to go visit Uncle Elliot and help him out a bit today, see you all later."

"And we should get going, the more time we have the more things we could buy!" Phoebe grabbed her by the hand and led her towards the doorway. Once they were gone, Grace let out a sign and rubbed her temples.

"We'll figure this out sweetheart; they're good kids and old enough to make decisions for themselves. And as for Christian, we can talk to him in a calmly manner." Carrick said, but Grace didn't have anything else to say, all she did was smile softly and then make her way up to her bedroom. It has been a long week and all she wanted to do was sleep.

xxxxx

Christian couldn't think of anyone else to speak to except for his brother, Elliot. He knew that his parents were furious with him; Mia had called and left a million messages saying that he was an idiot, and he couldn't talk to his children because they wouldn't pick up their phones. Elliot was his only family member that wanted to help him because Christian was always there for Elliot when he screwed up ever since they were teenagers.

"Hey look who decided to show up after a week of disappearing!" Elliot yelled out as Christian drove onto the driveway, Elliot was working on a new project, building and designing houses was something that he loved doing. He walked over to the car and watched as Christian jumped out, Elliot was about to say something insulting but he took a good look at Christian and he looked messed up.

"I need your help, Elliot." Christian said as soon as he got out of the car. "You're the only person in our family who would speak to me, and I want to make everything right."

"Look bro, when you drove up in the driveway I was about to let you have it; you made my niece cry her heart out on her 18th birthday and you just left without any warning. But since you're here looking for the missing puzzle pieces, I'll let it slide for now and help you out. As long as you tell me where you were." Elliot folded his arms.

Christian stood there for a moment and thought it all out; was it worth telling Elliot the real reason why he was in Portland? Or, was he going to cover this up with a little white lie? "Alright I'll tell you where I was, but can we talk about this inside?"

Elliot nodded and they both walked into the house, after 10 months of hard work it was almost finished and ready to be furnished. Christian would always say he'd buy the house if Elliot did a good job, and at this moment, he starting to believe that Elliot did an impressive job. They walked into the kitchen, Elliot handed him a water bottle and shrugged.

"Sorry man, we aren't allowed to drink any alcohol on the job so this is all I can offer you. And right now, you look like you could use something stronger than water." Elliot smirked. "Well I spoke to Phoebe this morning and she seems like she doesn't hate you that much. But, the only thing she was concerned about was why you were so distant from all of them all of a sudden? You were getting along so well with the family for the first time in years, and out of the blue you decide to pull this stunt. Mom was so convinced that having the kids with you had something to do with you becoming a family man, but now that they're all grown up, is this your way of easing out of their life again?"

"I did not realize that leaving Seattle without telling anyone would cause such a big conflict between everyone and me. I left without telling anyone because I'm not used to talking about my personal life, and I don't think I will ever change that fact about me. What I went to Portland for is taken care of, I'm not in any criminal trouble and it wasn't for business either in case you're wondering. I needed to attend a couple of last minute conferences, and also see an old friend; we had to re-connect and discuss a few arrangements." Christian cleared his throat.

"Christian, your personal life is our business too. That's why we're a family, do you remember all of the times Mia came over to my apartment crying her heart out after every guy she dumped? Her personal business belongs to her family; we're the only people who won't judge her after every mistake she thinks she's made. So if you think we're going to judge you, you're wrong." Elliot stated. "And that's not why we're mad; it's not healthy for you to leave while your kids are worried sick about you. And since you missed Esme's birthday, not even a phone call, that's what sent mom and dad off the edge. I think that the first person you need to clear this up with is Esme. Once they see that you've made it up to your daughter, they'll back off and eventually they'll forget about it. Later down the road, it'll just be a story that we can all laugh about."

"So all I have to do is make it up to her? That's already being taken care of, I have—"

"Christian, she needs to see that you're making it up to her, not the people who work for you. It needs to be from the heart rather than through a schedule book." Elliot shook his head.

"I hate to admit it but you're right Elliot, and let me take this time to say that I'm sorry to you. You're the first person all day who hasn't yelled at me or constantly call me an idiot." Christian said sternly.

"No problem, bro! What's the use being mad at you when I can watch everyone else hate your guts? Last week I forgot to pick up mom's car from the mechanic and she was furious with me, I'm glad that she moved on to her other son to pick on." Elliot smiled, and then stepped forward to give Christian a brotherly hug. "Which reminds me, you're going to have to tell me all about this 'friend' you supposedly went to see because you have never went out of town to visit me."

"I'll tell you about everything when things calm down, let's just focus on one thing at a time." Christian smirked as he saw Elliot's jaw drop.

"So I'm assuming you went out of town to see a girl? It looks like Mia's going to have to owe me some money." Elliot hysterically laughed, but then stopped when he saw someone standing in the doorway.

"Welcome back dad, hiding out and having a good time with Uncle Elliot?" The voice came from behind Christian, causing him to twist and turn in his skin.

Shit.


	15. Chapter 14

"Something told me that I should look for you and at least talk to you, but it looks like you don't have a care in the world since you're over here chilling with Uncle Elliot." Theodore leaned against the door frame, arms crossed and staring at his father dead in the eye.

"Theodore, your father wasn't over here to hang out with me. He came over to apologize for the pain he caused the family last night and ask for advice. I think you should at least respect him and realize that he didn't have any intention on ditching the party last night." Elliot stepped forward, trying to calm Theodore down.

"Look I'm not trying to give you a hard time because I know that grandma and grandpa probably did already. I know that you're selfish and private about your life when you want to be but why did you forget about Esme's party? She was so happy that you two were finally bonding, and then you just left her hanging." Theodore said.

Christian took a deep breath and explained himself to his son; he knew that if there was one person who wouldn't constantly tell him how much of a screw up he is, it would be Theodore. Theodore was raised to be forgiving and understanding, something that Christian wished he was capable of doing. Christian always wished that Theodore wouldn't turn out to be like him—dominating, controlling, over-powering. Eventually, Christian and Theodore talked it through and cleared the air; Christian learned that Esme wasn't entirely upset that Christian didn't show up at her birthday party, she was more worried if he was alright or not. Whereas Theodore found out that Christian was in Portland for personal issues—the same story that was told to Elliot. Christian couldn't explain to his family about Anastasia Steele, especially for the real reason why he was with her, not now. Not ever.

"Alright dad, I'm just glad that you're okay and if you dare pull this again—"Theodore paused as Christian's eyes widened.

"Are you threatening me, Theodore? You know that it angers me when you do." Christian snapped. "I have been tolerating shit all morning and I would appreciate it if you understand where I'm coming from."

"I'm just happy that you're alive and well old man, grandma seemed like she was ready to cut off your head this morning when she headed out to find you. But grandpa on the other hand, he was pretty quiet." Theodore said as grabbed a water bottle from the cooler, Elliot had gone back to work for a few minutes so they could speak in private.

"Your grandparents think that it's best if Esme stays with them while I get my shit together, they think that I was out on business and I'm devouring all of my time into work again. They understand that my work is my main priority but I am capable of taking care of my daughter as well." Christian raised his voice.

"Oh yeah, and how is that working out for you? You forgot about her 18th birthday, next thing you know you'll forget about her wedding." Theodore smirked.

"Let's get one thing clear, my daughters will have to get married over my dead body. God so help the man who ever comes to me asking for their hand in marriage." Christian threatened. "On a serious note, I will pay extra attention to all of my kids from now on, I'm sure you guys need me more than anyone else in your life."

"Speaking of my sisters, have you spoken to either of them since you've gotten back?" Theodore arched an eyebrow.

"I haven't, but I plan on doing so before the day ends—why?" Christian asked.

"Well, I think that you should find them before they find you. You really need to apologize to Esme and I'm sure drama queen Phoebe would be expecting one too for whatever reason." Theodore smirked.

"Alright, I'm headed over to the house anyways, hopefully your grandparents have calmed down." Christian sighed. "They haven't been this angry at me since I was a teenager."

"They aren't at home; Phoebe took Esme out to the mall or something just to get out of the house. But knowing Phoebe, she'll probably be guy shopping as well." Theodore smirked, but before he knew it Christian was storming out the door.

Xxxxxxxxx

Esme sat on her grandfather's chair in his study finishing up some homework, she always loved being in the study room because it was so peaceful and it reminded of her of the days when her mom used to find the quietest room in the house and read to her. For some reason, her grandfathers study was always the quietest room in the house so it made her feel like she was in her own little world. She needed to step back from everything and ground herself; did she really want to move back in with her grandparents? They hold a special place in her heart but she didn't want to leave her dad, he meant a lot to her no matter how controlling he was.

After a couple of minutes of being distracted from her homework by her thoughts, she snapped out of it and continued to work.

"You know, if you stay in that position you remind me of myself whenever I'm sitting behind my desk and working." She heard a voice and looked up; Christian was slowly approaching the desk with a serious facial expression, it was unreadable but it made Esme gasp. "Honey I am so sorry that I missed your birthday, I had no intention of making it seem like I've forgotten about you. Everyone told me about how hurt you were and I understand that, I do not want to be that type of parent to betray my children because you, Theodore and Phoebe mean a lot to me. I promise I will make this up to you and I will devour all my attention towards you, princess. After your mother died, I couldn't bear to see you, Theodore or Phoebe go through that emotional pain again so I made a promise that I would protect all of you. It's unfortunate that she wasn't able to be here last night but I'm positive that she would've been so proud of you, knowing her; she would've been in tears watching her little girl celebrate her 18th birthday. However, it was unacceptable for me to miss your big day so if there is anything I can do to make it up to you, just name it."

Esme leaned back into the chair and studied Christian carefully, she could tell that his words were sincere but she wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or he was just covering his ass from being yelled at from her grandparents, again. All she could think about was the words her family members have been filling her mind with for the past 24 hours "Your dad loves you, but what he did wrong." "I know that he's intimidating but at least consider the fact of putting your foot down and letting him know where you stand." "Family first always comes first, my dear"

"Esmeralda, I will not sit here and watch you give me the silent treatment. I am aware of my actions but do not let me suffer in silence." Christian's eyes narrowed.

"Do you mean it this time, dad?" Esme crossed her arms.

"Of course I mean it, honey, everything I just said was not a lie." Christian said.

"Well since we're being completely honest now, will you tell me what happened to you for the past week? When mom was alive, she would always demand an apology followed by an honest explanation and right now, I think I deserve one." Esme said.

Christian ran his fingers through his hair and swore under his breath, he didn't like to being challenged or doubted but right now wasn't the time and place to lose his temper. "Alright I was away on business because I needed to take care of something that could've interfered with my diligence. I have been putting this issue back for months because I had other things to take care of, but this week was the only week that it could've been handled before bigger issues erupted. I didn't tell you or anyone else because I did not want my family to think that I wasn't capable of handling simple arrangements in my work. I told my assistants and Taylor to let you know that it was nothing to worry about because you've shown no interest in what I do. It was last minute, but I should've thought it through much clearer." Christian sighed.

"To be honest dad, I just want us to be open and communicate more often. I cannot keep dealing with the lies and confidentiality so promise me that you'll work on it? That's the only thing I want from you, I want us to bond more often and for us to simply talk, sometimes I feel that you're all I have and I do not want us to distant ourselves from each other. I love you dad, just promise me that nothing like this will happen again? No more lies, no more disappearing, no more conflicts." Esme frowned, eventually she felt a tear roll down her cheek and before she knew it, her dad got up out of his seat and pulled her into his arms. It was the safest places she felt all week, and she could feel that everything was actually going to be okay again.

"It'll be our promise, honey." Christian said, and kissed the top of her head.

**I hope your guys are enjoying this so far, but do not think that the conflict is resolved just yet! Chapters with Anastasia are involved very soon; tell me what you think because your feedback is always appreciated!**

**xox**


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